


The Shadow VS The Emperor

by Chrystie, kate882



Category: Kuroko no Basuke | Kuroko's Basketball
Genre: Heroes and Villains AU, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-07
Updated: 2015-09-24
Packaged: 2018-04-19 13:30:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 25,299
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4748198
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Chrystie/pseuds/Chrystie, https://archiveofourown.org/users/kate882/pseuds/kate882
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kuroko is a super hero and Akashi is a super villain. They are also best friends. How long can they keep this from each other?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Kuroko usually tried not to make plans with Akashi right after one of his fights as The Shadow against The Emperor, because being a secret super hero meant not telling your best friend why you’d gotten hurt, and Akashi would certainly ask.

But Kuroko’s car had broken down and his phone was dead and Akashi’s house was close by. So, he tried to imagine that Akashi wouldn’t notice the large bruise that had formed across his jaw bone to help steel his nerves to knock on Akashi’s door.

Akashi really wasn’t in the mood or condition to accept visitors. His fight with The Shadow had been long and less than successful, especially with the now deep purple bruise that had formed on his stomach.

He opened the door and all his worries about himself rushed away once he noticed the large forming bruise on his dearest friend’s face. “Tetsuya, what happened? Who did this to you?!” He could worry about his own injuries later, they weren’t that bad. Tetsuya was his first priority.

So much for Akashi not noticing. Although, Kuroko had known from the start that wouldn’t be the case. Akashi always seemed to notice everything. “It’s not a big deal.” Kuroko said, keeping his voice light and calm to try and convince Akashi that it wasn’t that serious. “But I was wondering if you could help me out with my car. It broke down a few streets away, and my phone was dead, so I couldn’t call a tow truck.” Kuroko explained.

“It is a big deal!” Akashi argued, pulling Kuroko into his house and setting him on the couch. Akashi lowered his tone to speak to Kuroko calmly, or as calmly as he could manage given the situation. “You’re injured and I will not tolerate any harm that comes to you. Who did this?” He placed a gentle hand to Kuroko’s injured jaw to examine it a bit more, causing Kuroko to flinch slightly. Akashi would kill whoever did this to his precious Tetsuya.

Kuroko noticed the anger in Akashi’s eyes and placed a hand on his shoulder, guiding him to sit on the couch with him, to try and calm him down. “I’m fine. Really. I can take a punch, you know.” Kuroko informed him with a tiny smile.

“Tetsuya, this isn’t a matter of whether or not you can take a punch. It’s a matter of someone punching you at all.” Akashi really couldn’t believe that Kuroko wasn’t more upset about this. Why didn’t he care about his own well being?

“Well, it’s already been done, so what does it matter now? There’s nothing we can do to change it.” Kuroko told him.

“No. I can still punish whoever it was that did this.” Akashi grabbed the back of Kuroko’s head and leaned closer to look him straight in the eyes, _“Tell me who did this, Tetsuya.”_ Akashi didn’t use his powers. He wouldn’t do that to Kuroko, but that didn’t mean he was above giving him a command.

“I don’t know.” Kuroko said honestly, steadily meeting Akashi’s eyes. Because he didn’t know who The Emperor was under his mask it wasn’t technically a lie. “So, it really doesn’t matter, because there really is nothing to be done about it.”

Akashi wanted to ask more. Knew there was definitely more that Kuroko wasn’t telling him. But he also knew that Kuroko could be just as stubborn as he was sometimes, and Kuroko’s injury was more important at the moment. He sighed, dropping his hold on Kuroko’s head. “Very well. We can drop the topic _for now._ ” He lightly rubbed his thumb over Kuroko’s bruise, gentle enough so that it wouldn’t hurt, examining it. “We should go put some ice on this.”

Kuroko wanted to argue, but knew that Akashi would insist on the ice, so he just nodded, getting to his feet and holding out his hand to help Akashi up as well. He tried not to think about the ‘for now’ that Akashi had made very clear. “Can we also call that tow truck for my car?” He asked.

Akashi accepted his hand, doing his best to ignore his own injury as he got up. “Alright. You can use the phone in the kitchen.” Akashi lead Kuroko to the kitchen with a gentle hand on his back, gesturing for him to sit on one of the stools once there. He wrapped some ice in a small towel and handed it Kuroko. “Could you at least tell me _how_ this happened?” It wasn’t really a question.

“I got punched in the face.” Kuroko said simply, pressing the ice to his jaw, letting out a small hiss of pain when the cold touched him before it started doing the job of numbing his jaw. He regretted letting the sound escape him though because he knew that Akashi would have noticed and it didn’t help his whole ‘it’s not a big deal’ position on the matter.

Akashi’s eyes grew dark. “Tetsuya.” He bit out, “That isn’t answering my question.” His fingers gripped Kuroko’s chin, forcing him to look at him. “That was _what_ happened not _how_ it happened.” He leaned closer, until there were only a few inches between them. “How. Did. This. Happen.”

Kuroko felt his heart rate increase at the close proximity, and he would have looked away if he could. “I started another fight.” Kuroko muttered. He’d done it several times before, but Akashi had been meeting him one of the days one of those fights had happened, and as soon as he saw someone hit Kuroko... Kuroko was pretty sure if he hadn’t been there to stop him that Akashi would be in jail. He still maintained that he was in the right. The people he’d started a fight with had been about to beat the shit out of another kid and he’d had to do something. He couldn’t just stand by and watch when he could help.

Akashi should’ve known. Kuroko never really could leave others alone if he thought he was doing the right thing. He released his chin and moved away from him. “I thought we talked about this, Tetsuya. You can’t keep picking fights you can’t handle. Please think of yourself every now and then.”

“But I could handle it!” Kuroko protested, looking a bit offended that Akashi thought otherwise. He’d fought an evil villain with superpowers, and walked away with only a bruise on his jaw. Granted, he hadn’t done much damage either, but still. He thought he was doing pretty good. Not that he could mention anything like that to Akashi.

“Clearly not very well if you still managed to get this bruise!” Akashi hated yelling. It was undignified and generally annoying, but there were some things only Kuroko could accomplish, this being one of them. Why did he have to be so stubborn?

“If I got into a fight and only got hit once then I think I did pretty well.” Kuroko kept his voice as level as he could. It didn’t really work, but he wasn’t shouting like Akashi was.

“That’s not the point!” Shouting; he was doing it again. He tried to calm himself a bit before he continued. “That’s not the point,” he repeated, calmer this time. “The point is that you got hurt at all.”

“People get hurt all the time. If I tripped and fell would you be this mad at a rock that I tripped on?” Kuroko asked, arching an eyebrow.

“But it wasn’t a rock,” Akashi spoke slowly. “It was a person. A living, thinking, human being that hurt you. How can you expect me to not be angry when it was by someone that could have stopped if they wanted to?”

“Because I started the fight. It’s my fault. I was doing that thing you can’t stand where I stand up for other people despite the risk to myself. Thus, you have no reason to be angry with the person who did this to me; unless you want to get angry about the fact that they were going to hurt others, besides me.” Kuroko told him.

“I don’t care about others, Tetsuya.” He brushed aside the ice Kuroko was holding to his jaw so he could cup his face. “I care about _you.”_ He brushed light fingers over the bruise and pressed a weightless kiss to it.

Kuroko felt his face heat up, and he opened his mouth to reply, but no words came out. He had to look away from Akashi to be able to form words. “I care about you too. But I also care about other people, so of course I’m going to try to help if I can.” He said quietly, willing his blush to go away. It didn’t seem to be listening to him.

Akashi sighed. “I will never understand you, Tetsuya. You care for those who have done nothing for you.” He let the argument drop there. It had gone on long enough. He moved away from Kuroko, giving him back his space. “You wanted to call for a tow truck, right?”

Kuroko nodded his agreement, reaching forward and taking Akashi’s phone out of his pocket before quickly entering the pass code and looking up a tow truck service to call for his car.

“Honestly Tetsuya, I can just buy you a better car,” Akashi said with a tired voice.

“I have told you several times that I do not want you to buy me a car.” Kuroko replied, covering the receiver of the phone with his hand to say that before resuming his conversation with the tow truck driver, telling him where the car was before hanging up.

Akashi shook his head in disappointment. He would truly never understand Kuroko, even after all this time he still didn’t know how his mind worked. The whole reason that he had become friends with Kuroko was to figure him out. Even when they were little kids Kuroko couldn’t resist starting something if he thought it would help someone.

_Akashi didn’t understand the need for school. He could be taught by a much more proficient teacher at home. His father had the money for it. Why did he need to go to this poorly funded pile of rocks called a ‘building’?_

_He decided to keep to himself for the majority of his time there. There was no need for him to talk to the loud, crying, airheads. This attitude of his could only last so long before angering someone of course. It lasted about two and a half weeks to be exact._

_He had been, as usual, minding his own business, reading a book when some kid with gray hair took his book and threw it to the ground._

_“I don’t like you.” Haizaki informed him, yanking Akashi up by the collar of his shirt and readying his fist to punch him. As he was about to let it swing at Akashi, someone seemed to appear out of no where and grab the fist to keep it from connecting with Akashi’s face._

_“You shouldn’t hit people just because you don’t like them.” Kuroko said calmly._

_“Tetsuya, he thinks he’s better than all of us!” Haizaki shouted, glaring at the small blue haired boy._

_“I don’t care. You shouldn’t hurt him.” Kuroko said, sounding firm in his resolve even when Haizaki dropped Akashi and grabbed Kuroko instead._

_Akashi was… confused. Why was this kid butting in? Did he want something from him? He really didn’t want to owe this kid anything so he begrudgingly tapped the silver haired kid on the shoulder to get his attention._

_“What do you want, freak?!” Haizaki asked, glaring over his shoulder at Akashi, continuing to hold Kuroko in place by his shirt with a fist raised to punch him._

_Akashi gave him a bone chilling smile and gripped the boys wrist, squeezing it hard enough to make him release the blue haired boy. He kept his hold on him even after he let go of the blue boy. “Leave. Us. Alone.” He bit out, smile never leaving his face._

_“L-let go of me!” Haizaki shouted, tears springing to his eyes from the pain of Akashi’s grip._

_“Akashi-kun. You should let go of him.” Kuroko said, gently placing a hand over Akashi’s._

_Akashi looked over to the blue boy who was interrupting the dispute again. Akashi narrowed his eyes at him. “Why? He wanted to hurt you. Why are you being nice to him?”_

_“That doesn’t matter. He’s not hurting me right now, so I have no need to hurt him. At this point it would just be revenge, not self defense.” Kuroko told him._

_“What’s wrong with revenge?” Akashi let the boy in his grip free, too distracted by the odd blue boy. Haizaki immediately ran away._

_“It’s mean.” Kuroko said simply, dropping his hand back to his side when Akashi let go of the other boy._

_Akashi stared at the boy with curiosity, tilting his head a bit. “You’re weird.”_

_Kuroko shrugged, not seeming particularly bothered by this._

_Akashi picked up his book, still staring at the kid and backing away until he could no longer see him. That kid was really weird, but he wasn’t too sure he didn’t like it yet. For the rest of recess Akashi couldn’t stop thinking about the weird blue boy._

_By lunch break, he had thought about it enough, and decided that he didn’t know enough about this boy and his weirdness yet to dislike him. So he set out on a mission to find this boy and spend time with him until he knew._

_Finding him was a little hard. The boy was practically invisible despite his blue hair. Finally finding him at a small bench outside, he plopped himself right next to the boy and started eating his food._

_Kuroko looked over at Akashi in surprise when the other boy sat down next to him, looking torn between saying something and just letting him be._

_Akashi continued to eat, not really acknowledging the boy in any way._

_Kuroko hesitantly turned back to his own lunch, although he was only eating an apple and drinking some milk._

_Akashi noticed the boy’s lack of any actual lunch and took out some of his extra food, the food that he was given everyday despite never really finishing it, and silently slid it over to the boy._

_Kuroko looked more surprised by this gesture than by Akashi sitting next to him. “It’s okay. You can eat your lunch. I’m fine with just this.” Kuroko told him, because he really was. A full lunch was too much for him._

_“I really don’t think one apple is enough. You should try to eat more.” Akashi simply responded._

_“But why are you giving me your food?” Kuroko asked with a tilt of his head. It didn’t really fit what he had seen of Akashi’s personality earlier that day. Or the time he had spent in their class._

_“That food would just go to waste if you don’t eat it. They give me too much.” Akashi finally looked away from his lunch to face the blue boy._

_“And why are you sitting with me?” As far as he had seen, Akashi sat by himself at lunch every day and seemed content to continue doing just that since he didn’t seem to really like anyone._

_“Because you’re weird,” Akashi replied and took a bite of his food._

_“Okay.” Kuroko said, starting to pick at the food Akashi had given him. It really was too much after the apple and milk._

_“I don’t know if I like that weirdness or not yet,” he said after swallowing his food. “I want to know though.”_

_“And what do you think so far?” Kuroko asked with a tilt of his head._

_Akashi took a second to think about it, looking up at the tree above them while doing so. “I don’t dislike it,” he finally concluded._

_Kuroko gave him a beaming smile at that before returning to picking at the food._

_Akashi stared, a little mesmerized, at the boy’s smile. He decided he maybe even_ liked _the boy after seeing that smile._

If only Akashi knew that he would one day come to rue the very trait that he met Tetsuya through. Really, that trait caused him nothing but trouble, even when they were children it was nothing but bad.

“Do you think you can give me a ride to the mechanic they’re taking my car to though?” Kuroko asked.

He nodded, “Of course, Tetsuya.” He grabbed his keys and directed them towards the garage. “Are you _sure_ you don’t want a new car?” He tried again.

“I’m sure that I don’t want you to buy me a car.” Kuroko said sounding exasperated. It seemed that every time there was even the slightest problem with his car Akashi was trying to buy him a new one. “If I want a new car I will get one myself.” He would not let Akashi throw his money away on him like that.

“But _Tetsuya_ , I can get it for you _now,”_ Akashi almost whined. He would only ever let himself act this way around Kuroko, and only when they were alone.

“And I can reject that offer _now._ ” Kuroko replied, getting into the passenger seat of Akashi’s car.

Akashi sighed. He refused to pout. He got in and immediately started it up and drove out of the garage. “Tetsuya, I really don’t understand why it’s so wrong for me to offer my best friend something that he needs that I can get him with ease.”

“For three reasons. One: If I actually let you buy me a car I know it wouldn’t just be a simple used car. It would be expensive and new and far more than what I need. Two: I don’t want you to spend thousands of dollars on me. And three: it’s not something that I need. My car will be fixed, I will pay for it to be fixed, and I’ll be fine until the next time something goes wrong.” Kuroko explained, buckling his seatbelt and settling into his seat, pressing the makeshift ice pack back to his face.

“But this the _sixth_ time it’s broken down. It would be much cheaper for me to buy you a car than all these repairs. Not that I’m counting of course.” Akashi took two turns, driving much faster than he really should’ve been.

It had actually broken down seven times, but he’d managed to not tell Akashi the last time just to avoid this specific argument. “I’ve been thinking of selling it and getting another car because of that actually. But I don’t need you to buy me one.”

“I don’t think selling it only to buy something of similar quality and watching that one break down multiple times will really solve anything.” Another sharp turn and they were at the mechanics. The one that Akashi had seen much more than he’d like to during the past few months.

“Kuroko-kun, back already? And you brought your friend this time!” The mechanic greeted cheerfully when the two walked in.

“This time, Tetsuya? Is he saying there was a time you’ve been here _without_ me?” Akashi stated more than asked with his bone chilling smile perfectly in place.

Kuroko glanced away, and the mechanic answered for him, not seeming to realize that he was getting Kuroko into more trouble. “Yeah, he was in here about two weeks ago, and said you were busy when I asked about you.”

 _“Really?_ Two weeks ago?” Akashi held Kuroko in place next to him, when he noticed him trying to inch further away, “Tetsuya, why didn’t you tell me about this?”

“It didn’t come up...” Kuroko tried. The mechanic seemed to notice that he’d started something and quickly excused himself to go work on the car.

Once Akashi was sure that the mechanic was out of earshot he let his smile drop and turned to Kuroko, still holding him in place. _“Tetsuya.”_

“Akashi-kun.” Kuroko replied simply.

“This is _exactly_ why you need a new car. A _functional_ new car.” Akashi couldn’t believe Kuroko had tried to hide this from him.

“I told you that I’m thinking of getting one.” Kuroko said, not sounding as concerned about the matter as he probably should be.

“I think you missed my mention of a _functional_ one.” Akashi released Kuroko from his hold, giving him some space. “You can’t tell me that you’re alright with the current state of things.” He looked at him upset.

“I’m perfectly fine with my state of things. I have a decent apartment, a job that I enjoy, and I’ve saved up a bit so that when I sell this car I can buy one that is functional.” Kuroko told him.

Akashi sighed. He really didn’t believe that, well at least not the part about the car. “How about we have a compromise then?”

“Not entirely your way? Is the great Akashi Seijuro admitting defeat?” Kuroko asked, arching an eyebrow.

“Not defeat. A compromise.” Akashi stubbornly pointed out.

“Sounds like defeat to me.” Kuroko teased. “But I’m listening.”

“I could very well retract the compromise and just go back to my original idea.” Akashi frowned.

“I will not accept your original idea. I have been rejecting it since we were sixteen.” Kuroko replied.

“Tch,” Akashi really had to wonder how he managed to stay such good friends with someone who was just as stubborn as he was. “How about I buy you a car that we both agree on, and you can pay me back over time”

“Would you actually let me pay you back or will it be like that time in tenth grade where you told me I could pay you back for lunch and then you put the money I gave you back in my wallet later?” Kuroko asked.

“I promise you can pay me back. But there are more ways to pay someone back than just with money. I do love your hard boiled eggs.” Akashi smiled pleasantly.

“I am not paying you in food that I know you don’t like.” Kuroko said flatly.

He knew Kuroko would shut him down on that point. He had hoped though. “Fine, fine, but that condition still stands.”

“Which condition? That I can apparently pay you for a car in mediocre breakfast food?” Kuroko asked.

“Well not just food. You can do so with other means as well. You can decide what those means are.” Akashi had a feeling he would regret that decision eventually but for now it was the only way he could think of to get Kuroko to agree to his conditions.

“I will be paying you back in money.” Kuroko replied, the closest he was going to get to agreeing.

The mechanic walked back over to them and smiled. “Your car is ready, Kuroko-kun.” He then frowned a bit. “What happened to your face?” He asked, seeming to see the bruise for the first time.

“He was out playing hero for the neighborhood is what happened,” Akashi irritatedly answered.

The mechanic laughed. “Sounds like him.” There had been one time that Kuroko had tried to chase down someone robbing the mechanic while they were there. It ended up being Akashi who caught the guy because he was faster and didn’t want Kuroko to get hurt. They got discounts at this place now for helping though.

“Unfortunately, I can’t convince him to let go of his heroic endeavors. One of these days he’s going to get seriously injured from them.” Akashi looked at Kuroko worriedly.

“And when that day comes I’ll actually let you pay for my hospital room to calm your nerves so you don’t shout at me.” Kuroko replied.

“Well then thank you for giving me such an honor. I’m sure your hospital bill will definately calm the aneurysm I’ll have the day that happens.” Akashi bit back, lacing his words with sarcasm.

“It will, because I’ll actually go to a hospital instead of camping out at Midorima-kun’s house. You hate that I don’t go to hospitals.”

“I really do hate it. I can’t imagine Shintaro enjoys it much either, although I can’t say I don’t understand how you feel.” Akashi hated the hospital just as much as Kuroko. He treated most of his injuries himself and went to Midorima almost as much as Kuroko did.

“Well, you boys should both try and stay safe.” The mechanic said, handing the bill to Kuroko, who pulled out his debit card from his wallet after glancing at it and gave it back to the mechanic to ring him up.

Just like every other time Akashi had been here with Kuroko, he held himself back from yanking the debit card straight out of the mechanics hand and paying for it himself. It was an amazingly difficult task for him. He hated watching Kuroko pay for _anything_ while he was around. As patiently as he could handle, he waited for the transaction to be done and over with. He tried to distract himself by clenching his hands together and fiddling a bit with his shirt.

Kuroko reached over and took one of Akashi’s hands in his own to calm him down, offering a tiny smile.

Akashi gripped  Kuroko’s hand for the whole minute it took for the transaction to happen. Once Kuroko finally got his card back, Akashi let himself relax but was still holding onto Kuroko’s hand. “So, when would you like to go pick out your new car, Tetsuya?”

Kuroko shrugged. “It doesn’t really matter when to me.” He replied.

“Great!” Akashi smiled and laced their fingers together, preventing Kuroko from escaping, “Then let’s go right now.”

Kuroko’s eyes widened, and he really shouldn’t have been surprised but he still was, and Akashi wasn’t letting him leave it seemed. “Why _right now?”_ He asked. “My car is fine right now. I just got it fixed!” Kuroko protested.

“That doesn’t mean you can’t pick one out. We don’t have to buy it today, we can just choose one.” Akashi lead Kuroko over to his car and gently pushed him into the passenger seat. “Which brand would you like?”

“B-but, my car...” Kuroko pointed towards his car, sitting abandoned in the parking lot.

“We can pick that up later. I’m sure no one’s going to want to steal it.” Akashi buckled himself in and quickly sped off.

Kuroko was _not_ pouting as he reluctantly buckled his seatbelt and stared out the passenger window.

Akashi laughed silently at Kuroko’s small pout. He’d never tell him how cute he was like that. Slowly, he searched for Kuroko’s hand with his free one and, once again, laced their fingers together. “Tetsuya, that pout might become permanent if you keep using it.” Not that he really would’ve minded if it had.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. I’m not pouting.” Kuroko denied, although his pout only grew when he was called out on it.

“Of course not, Tetsuya. I’m sure your neutral face always consists of your lower lip slightly protruding,” Akashi laughed again, not very silent this time.

“Akashi-kun is cruel. A good friend would have pretended not to notice.” Kuroko informed him, sinking lower into his seat.

“Ah. But a best friend would make fun of it until their final days together.”

A wicked smile crossed Kuroko’s face. “Oh? Would they? Then I suppose I should bring up that first time you got drunk...” Kuroko trailed off.

“Please don’t,” Akashi groaned, squeezing Kuroko’s hand a bit.

“But I thought, as your best friend, I was supposed to make fun of you about it until we die.” Kuroko said with false innocence.

“Yes,” Akashi agreed, “The same way I would make fun of you for that first time we went to karaoke, your final song was amazing, honestly,” Akashi tried to suppress his laughter, failing a bit.

Kuroko blushed bright red. “You wore my poor pet turtle as a hat.” Kuroko accused. “And declared that his new name was “Ninja” so that he would be a Ninja Turtle.”

Akashi coughed, trying to hide his embarrassment. “I was merely excited that you got a turtle. You cannot blame me if I got a little carried away.”

“I do blame you. Turtle was traumatized.” Kuroko declared.  

“At least I didn’t put my pet under the torture of being named what it is. You really should’ve given him a proper name,” Akashi absentmindedly stroked Kuroko’s hand with his thumb.

“You don’t have a pet! You just kind of co-parent mine. I’m pretty sure you like my turtle almost as much as you like me. If not more.”

“But I still wouldn’t have just named him ‘Turtle’.”

“No. You would name him Ninja, apparently.”

“Possibly. And for the record, I like you much more than Turtle,” Akashi briefly side-eyed Kuroko before looking back at the road.

“Turtle would be betrayed to hear this. I’m telling him when I get home.” Kuroko informed him.

“My deepest apologies to Turtle, but I do play favorites. Should I come over later to apologize to him in person?”

“You just want to come over to see him. It’s only been two days since you were last over to see him and Nigou, Akashi-kun.” Kuroko had bought the turtle on a whim, and now he and Akashi both loved it.

“I’m sure he enjoys my company just as much.” Akashi pulled up to the car dealership, finally letting go of Kuroko’s hand so they could both get out. “Pick out something you like. I’m going to find someone who works here.”

Kuroko walked over to the used car section and started looking around for something functional but not too expensive because he was going to pay Akashi back, no matter what Akashi said. He eventually found a sky blue Volkswagen Bug and leaned against that to wait for Akashi.

Akashi looked around, trying to find Kuroko, something he had become very good at after spending so many years with him, and almost wanted to hit himself for thinking he could trust Kuroko to pick something nice for himself. Walking up to him, his face was only filled with disappointment. “Honestly, Tetsuya. I’m offering to buy you anything you want. _Anything._ Why can’t you just be selfish for once?”

“I am being selfish. I like this car.” Kuroko declared. It was also the cheapest one that looked to be in good enough condition for Akashi to agree on, but he actually did like the car.

“Then can’t you please pick a car that isn’t used.” Akashi might get his aneurysm earlier than he expected, and not from seeing Kuroko in a hospital room.

“New cars cost too much. I’m paying you back for this, and I have a kindergarten teacher’s salary.” Kuroko replied.    

“Tetsuya, I said _please_.” Akashi informed him as if it were the most improbable thing he had ever experienced. “I also never said how long you had until it all had to be paid back. You could be giving that money to my _grandchildren_ and I’d still accept it.”

“I want this one.” Kuroko said stubbornly, folding his arms over his chest. .

“And I am suggesting you get it not _used._ ” Akashi countered just as stubbornly as Kuroko.

“I am choosing to reject your suggestion.”

“Tetsuya, be reasonable. I want this car to last you for a while. A used car will only last a fraction of the time a new one would.” Why was his friend so damn stubborn?

“You know, why don’t you just take me back to my car? I think that will last a while.” He pushed himself off of the car and started to walk back in the direction of Akashi’s.

“The same way it lasted in the last two weeks?” Akashi gave him an unimpressed look.

Kuroko didn’t have an answer to that so he didn’t answer and simply continued walking.

Akashi chased after him, grabbing his arm to stop him for a bit. “Tetsuya, wait.” Akashi was going to hate his next words. “Are you willing to settle for the cheapest unused car here?”

“I liked the one that I showed you. I will not downgrade from its magnificence.” Kuroko knew full well it wouldn’t be downgrading, but he didn’t really care.

 _“Downgrade._ Really, Tetsuya, you are amazing.” Akashi sighed. He seemed to do that a lot around Kuroko. “Alright, I’ll get it on one condition.”

Kuroko tilted his head to indicate that he was listening.

“If that car starts to break down even once within the first year of you having it, we take it straight back here and get you a different one. A new one.”

Kuroko resolved that if it broke down he just wouldn’t tell Akashi. “Deal.”

Akashi breathed a sigh of relief. _Finally._ It really was a wonder how they stayed together for so long when they were both so stubborn. He took Kuroko to meet with the worker there and they put the car on hold. Akashi did say that they didn’t need to buy it today. He drove Kuroko back to his failing, garbage car, smiling at a somewhat success, “So. What do you plan to do with that car now?” Akashi asked with a smug grin.

“Sell it so that I have money to pay you back with. I can get rid of at least half of the debt by selling this thing.” Kuroko said, patting the hood of his car.

“More like a quarter with that junk,” Akashi muttered. “I told you, you can take your time with the payment.”

“I know you did. But I want to pay it off as soon as possible.” Kuroko replied.

“Of course you would.” Really, Akashi had already known that to begin with. His offering of all the time in the world was really more for his own interests. He just didn’t want to put any pressure on Kuroko, which again, didn’t really matter when Kuroko put pressure on himself.

“But thank you, Akashi-kun. I know you’re doing all of this because you care. You’re a good friend.” Kuroko said, wrapping his arms around Akashi for a brief hug.

Akashi returned the hug, “Of course I care, Tetsuya. I care about you most. Never forget that.” Letting go of each other, Akashi briefly examined the bruise on Kuroko’s face again, hoping Kuroko wouldn’t notice. He would definitely find out who had done it later.

Kuroko sighed and lifted a hand to cover Akashi’s eyes. “Does it help to not look at it?” He asked, frowning disapprovingly, despite the fact that Akashi couldn’t see him.

“Not really, but I appreciate the attempt.” Akashi removed Kuroko’s hand from his face, squeezing it a bit before letting go. “You know I can’t make any promises,” he said, gently stroking the bruise.

Kuroko understood what he meant, and sighed again. He knew Akashi would try to figure out who had done it, and would then try to hurt them for hurting him, but at least Kuroko was pretty sure that this time Akashi wouldn’t be able to figure it out. After all, who guessed a super villain as the guy that punched their best friend in the face? “I know. I never expect you to. I usually just hope that I’ll be there to calm you down whenever you find someone who hurt me.”

Akashi gave a wry smile. “I would expect nothing less from you.” He let his hand drop from Kuroko’s face and backed away a bit. “Is everything settled for you then? Don’t need me for anything else?”

“I think I’m fine now. But Turtle will need consoling soon since I’m still telling him what you said.” Kuroko replied, starting to walk towards his car.

“I apologize to Turtle, but I can’t change the truth. Hopefully he can continue on with only a fraction of my love,” Akashi laughed a bit while opening the door to his car. “Since you’re fine now, I have some business to attend to.” Getting in he rolled down the window to give Kuroko one last reminder, “Please try to get home without starting any fights.”

“No promises!” Kuroko called before getting into his car and starting it. He pulled out and headed in the direction of his apartment.

 _Touché._ Well, he had expected that. Leaving the repair shop, he headed in the opposite direction from his house. He had to organize a few plans and then see a man about a meeting.

* * *

The Emperor waited until the security guard had passed before cutting a hole, big enough for his hand to fit through, in the mansion window. Slipping his hand in, he unlocked the window and let himself in. From what he remembered, the electronics CEO was another floor up and there was one elevator that went directly to his room. Dodging two more security guards and knocking out another along with a maid, he finally found his way to the elevator.

So far so good. He was hoping the man would be asleep, but knowing his reputation, The Emperor knew he wouldn’t be. Just as he had expected, the man wasn’t asleep. He watched with disgust as the bedsheets rose and fell with every grunt and moan. He sighed, there was no way they would stop unless he interrupted. He perched himself against the wall next to the elevator and spoke up, “Lovely night isn’t it?”

The man and woman jumped apart and stared at the intruder. “Y-you!” The man shouted, clearly recognizing the costume that identified The Emperor. He immediately reached for his phone on his bedside table to call the police.   

These old men were always so predictable. He pulled the gun from his belt and shot the phone out of the man’s hand. “Glad to see you recognize me. I’ve been meaning to talk to you.” He mindlessly twirled the gun, daring the man to try something else.

The Shadow heard about the break in from his police scanner. Apparently someone had tripped an alarm by opening a window in the home of a CEO to an electronics company. It sounded like The Emperor's type of thing.

So, melting in with shadows, the reason for his hero name, The Shadow made his way into the house, entering the elevator to go up to the CEO’s room.

The Emperor moved away from the elevator when he heard it ding. _Damn it._ He had been hoping for more time.

The Shadow slipped out of the elevator, unseen, keeping to the darkened sections of the room and watching the Emperor for any sign that he was going to make a move against the man and woman in the bed.

“Shadow, you know I hate this game of hide and seek we play every time we meet. Why can’t you ever just show yourself. It would make things much easier.” The Emperor really didn’t want to have to deal with The Shadow tonight.

“Easier for _you,_ Emperor-san. More dangerous for me.” The Shadow replied, making sure he moved as soon as the words were out of his mouth so that the gun couldn’t be aimed at where his voice came from.

“You say that as if you’ve never been able to take a hit from me before. How’s your jaw by the way?” He smirked, not that anyone could really see it through his mask.

“I got a lot of questions at work, so thank you for that. How are your ribs feeling?” The Shadow replied sarcastically, moving out of the darkness long enough to try and steal the gun.

The Emperor reacted quickly, shooting at where The Shadow emerged. “Nice of you to show yourself Shadow, and I always enjoy the little tingle I get every morning in my stomach when I wake up. So thank you for _that.”_ He replied, returning The Shadow’s words back to him.

The Shadow disappeared just in time to avoid the bullet, coming back into visibility behind The Emperor, and grabbing his hand to keep him from pulling the trigger again. “If you keep shooting the police will rush in a lot faster because they’ll know someone’s life is in danger.”

The Emperor twisted back to punch The Shadow’s jaw, in the same place he had before. Getting him to release his hand and move back a bit. “Thank you for your concern, but the police are only a small annoyance compared to you.”

The Shadow stumbled back from the force of the punc. He kicked out, hitting The Emperor in the shin and then blended into the shadows again, casting a glance at the man and woman cowering under the sheets before returning his full attention to The Emperor. They were fine after all.

The Emperor needed to find a way to get rid of The Shadow if he wanted to finish what he originally intended to do. He shot a couple more rounds at the Shadow, ignoring the pain in his shin.

The Shadow let out a shout of pain when one of the bullets grazed his side. He pressed his hand against the spot to keep pressure on it. It could have been worse though. It was only a graze. He would be fine. And with adrenaline pumping through him, he could still stop The Emperor.

Hearing the shout, The Emperor took the opportunity to go for the light switch, hopefully limiting the Shadow’s hiding places. They room brightened up, giving him a better view of everyone and the current state of things. The CEO and the woman were still trembling in fear and The Shadow was currently holding his side from where he assumed he shot him. _Good._ It wouldn’t be too hard to deal with an injured Shadow.

Lights started flashing outside, indicating that the police were now surrounding the house. “Emperor-san. I think you should get going. The police are already here, and there are too many of them for you to use your powers on.” The Shadow advised, moving to stand in front of the bed to shield the two on it.

He hated to admit it, but The Shadow was right. ”Tch. One of these days, Shadow, you will regret letting me go every time we run into each other.” He slipped back into the elevator, going back to the main floor. He forced the first person he found, which happened to be a scared maid, to look into his heterochromatic eyes as he commanded, “Show me to a safe exit.” She wordlessly did as he told her, allowing him to escape before being seen by the authorities.

The Shadow turned to the couple in the bed and tried to make his voice as reassuring as possible through the voice filter built into his mask. “You two should be safe now. Please do be careful though.” And then he disappeared, heading towards Midorima’s house to take care of where he had been shot.


	2. Chapter 2

It had been a few days since Akashi had attempted to ‘speak’ to the electronics CEO. He was still upset over not being able to even get a word in before The Shadow showed up. He was kicked hard enough that his shin had bruised so badly that he had a small limp up until now. He had decided not to see Kuroko in that time in hopes of not answering questions. How ever he could only go so long without seeing his friend so today he decided that an impromptu visit was needed. He walked up to Kuroko’s apartment and knocked on the door a few times.

Kuroko had been feeding Turtle when he heard a knock on the door. He placed the rest of the food down in front of his pet, washed his hands quickly, and went to answer the door, smiling when he saw Akashi. “Turtle has been moping around since he found out that you don’t love him as much as me.” Kuroko said as a greeting.

“And again, I apologize for that but my answer won’t change,” Akashi smiled, walking in to greet both Kuroko and Turtle.

“What about Nigou?” Kuroko asked when his dog bounded over and barked happily at Akashi, looking up at him and waiting to be petted.

Akashi crouched down to rub the puppy between the ears affectionately, “I love Nigou as well, but no one will make me worry more than Tetsuya.” Akashi gave Kuroko a pointed look.

“Well, Nigou and Turtle don’t really do anything to make anyone worry.” Kuroko pointed out. They were both very good pets. The bruise on his jaw wasn’t as faded as he had hoped it would be since he’d been punched again a few days ago, but it was still better than the first time Akashi had seen it.

“They really don’t. Maybe you should be taking a few pointers from them,” he laughed.

“I think you just worry too much.” Kuroko declared, flopping down on his couch. He just barely suppressed a flinch when it disturbed the cut that Midorima had stitched up where he’d been shot a few days ago, luckily Akashi’s attention was still on Nigou.

Neither Akashi nor Kuroko ever outright _told_ Midorima what they were doing, they just made him promise not to tell the other, but they were both pretty sure he knew.

“I think my worrying is justified, given your personality.” Akashi sat down next to Kuroko and placed Nigou in his lap to continue petting him. “Have you gotten into any trouble during the past few days I wasn’t with you?”

“Of course not. I _never_ get into any trouble. Not ever.” Kuroko said, batting his eyelashes innocently at Akashi.

“Of course not, Tetsuya. People just seem to have a problem with you and decide that you need to be unfairly punished for it. It’s obviously not because you keep picking unnecessary fights.” Akashi responded, his words dripping with sarcasm.

“I will defend the necessity of every fight I’ve ever been in to the death. But if you can acknowledge that it’s pretty much always my fault, I still don’t get why you’re mad at them for hurting me and not mad about them hurting the people I step in for.”

“Because _you’re_ the one that’s important to me and I am biased.” He answered simply. “I will defend _you_ to the death.”

“As I would you.” Kuroko said with a small smile. He could never quite understand how Akashi could care so little for others, but he knew it was a two way streak, because Akashi never seemed to understand Kuroko’s need to stick up for people who had done nothing for him.

Kuroko glanced at the television, which he had left on the news, when they started talking about The Shadow and The Emperor fighting again. Apparently someone had finally gotten the Electronics CEO to talk about what had happened. “Hospital records indicate that no one has come in with a gun wound to their side, despite claims from both witnesses that The Shadow was shot. So, it seems we are still no closer to finding out who these masked men are.” The reporter was saying.

Akashi scowled at the television. He was hoping to have at least gotten a description of what The Shadow might look like. He looked towards Kuroko, pointing at the screen, “See Tetsuya. This is what happens to people who play hero. This is why I don’t want you getting into random fights with people.”

“I wouldn’t have to play hero if people would stop doing bad things. The Shadow wouldn’t have gotten shot if The Emperor would stop breaking into places with guns. Besides, I’m sure he’s fine if there are no hospital records.”

“What The Emperor was doing was of no concern to The Shadow. Besides, he’s never been reported for killing people. They would have made it out alive,” Akashi argued.

“But he has hurt people.” Kuroko said simply, because that was always enough for him to start a fight over. Even just the intention to hurt someone. Kuroko always got himself involved to defend others if he thought they were in danger.

“Maybe there was a reason for him to hurt those people. If he had one then The Shadow really does have no right to interfere,” The Shadow was just a pest in Akashi’s eyes.

“It doesn’t matter if he has a reason or not. If they aren’t actively trying to hurt him or someone else it’s either just revenge or random violence. I get into a lot of fights, and I’ve injured people, but never when they weren’t actually planning on hurting someone, and as soon as they stop so do I. Because it’s not right to hurt someone for any reason that isn’t stopping them from hurting you or someone else. Violence does not need to be the answer to everything.” Kuroko sat up a bit straighter as he got more passionate with his words.

“What’s wrong with revenge?” Akashi said darkly.

“Hatred begets hatred. It’s all a cycle and nothing gets better.” Kuroko told him.

Akashi sighed. They’d had this argument so many times before. “Somethings never really change, do they? Even things from when we were five.” Akashi looked back into Kuroko’s eyes with a hint of affection, while returning to scratching Nigou’s belly.

“It would seem so.” Kuroko replied. He smiled at Akashi before turning his attention back to the screen where the CEO was talking. “The Emperor said that The Shadow keeps letting him go. How are any of us supposed to be safe if he keeps letting the bad guys get away? The Shadow told me I’m safe now, but how can I be if this Emperor is still after me?” Kuroko could almost roll his eyes. He wasn’t sure why this responsibility was being pushed onto him. It was only out of moral obligation that he saved the people in the first place, and now he was supposed to do the police’s job by catching the criminals and bringing them in as well? A job that no one seemed able to manage, but he wasn’t good enough because he couldn’t either?

“This man has no sense of gratitude. He should be happy that he got out of that uninjured.” Akashi really wished he’d been able to at least break the man’s leg. “I can see why he gets along so well with my father.”

“I thought you were against what The Shadow is doing?” Kuroko asked, arching an eyebrow.

“I am,” Akashi said simply, “That doesn’t mean I agree with this selfish man though. I can see when gratitude should be due. I wish I could say the same about him.” He wished he could say the same for a lot of people, but he would take care of them in time.

Kuroko nodded. “How about we go see Turtle so you can apologize to him. The news just seems to do bad things to our moods.” He suggested.

Akashi nodded, reaching for the remote to turn it off. Kuroko was right. The news did nothing good for them. He washed his hands before walking over to the tank and taking him out. “Hello, Turtle. I’m sorry to hear that you’ve been sad lately.” He lightly petted Turtle’s head with a finger, holding him up to his chest.

Kuroko went to the kitchen to get lunch for them when it seemed Akashi was getting on well with his pet, Nigou following him in the hopes of getting food as well.

Akashi waited until Kuroko was out of earshot before turning back to Turtle to talk to him. “Turtle, do you think I’m being unreasonable? I mean, I just want him to be safe. That’s not bad right?” Turtle slightly moved his head to the side. “That’s what I thought. I’m sorry you’re not my favorite, Turtle. I still love you though.”

Kuroko walked in with two sandwiches and arched an eyebrow at Akashi.

“Ah, Tetsuya. Turtle told me he forgives me and understands how I feel. He also cares about you most as well.” He walked up to Kuroko presenting Turtle to him. “You’re very loved, Tetsuya. I’m almost jealous.”

“Well, you’re very loved too. I actually put in the effort to make you food as well.” Kuroko replied, holding up the extra sandwich. “You have to put Turtle down though and wash your hands first.”

“I’m honored, Tetsuya.” He went to put Turtle back in his tank before walking over to the bathroom to wash his hands. “I’m guessing this is egg salad,” Akashi pointed at the sandwich.  

“It is not.” Kuroko said, sounding proud of himself. “It’s ham and cheese.”

Akashi picked up the sandwich and took a bite, suppressing his laugh. “I’m pleasantly surprised. Maybe I should start letting you cook all your meals without my help.”

Kuroko’s smile dropped. “Please don’t do that to me. I thought we were friends.”

“And what kind of friend would I be if I didn’t let you teach yourself to cook,” Akashi smirked at Kuroko’s pout.

“A _good_ one.” Kuroko replied.

Akashi let himself openly laugh this time. “I suppose I shouldn’t let you burn down your house attempting to make a meal that didn’t involve eggs. If it makes you feel better, this sandwich is very good.” He took a bite to emphasize his point.

“I actually did start a kitchen fire two days ago. Kagami-kun was mad at me.” Kuroko told him sheepishly.

Akashi blinked at him. “Tetsuya… How?”

“I was trying to make chicken and noodles.” Kuroko looked at the ground. “The perks of living across the hall from a fireman is that I only had mild damage to my oven. I don’t need to buy a new one.”

“Did you want a new one?” Akashi offered, not really expecting Kuroko to accept.

“No. I do not want a new oven, Akashi-kun. I just told you that I don’t need a new oven because Kagami-kun saved it from certain doom.”

“But if you _wanted_ a new one, I could get it for you.” Akashi didn’t really care too much about the oven like he did the car. By now the offer was more for routine.

“If I wanted a _house_ you could get one for me. It’s not a matter of questioning your ability to buy me things. I just don’t want you to buy me things.”

“Well I can’t say you’re wrong.” Akashi said as he finished the rest of his food. “I just want you to be able to live comfortably.”

Kuroko shrugged. “I do. I like my life. I’ve got good friends, a best friend, a roof over my head, and food in my fridge. Also, food in Kagami-kun’s fridge, because I can’t cook. I’m happy.” He said with a small smile.

It comforted Akashi when Kuroko told him he was happy with his life. Having grown up so much differently than him; Akashi had no idea what it took for someone who grew up normally to be content and happy with their life. “If you are content then so am I. Just remember, I’m always willing to provide.”

“I know you are. You never let me forget it.” Kuroko said with a laugh, before finishing his own sandwich. “And Turtle also knows because you wouldn’t let me take back the tank you got him.”

“Of course. Turtle also deserves all he desires. I’m also always willing to spoil him if you want me to.” Akashi replied with a bit of a grin. Nigou barked from behind him with a whimper at his words, “And of course Nigou as well. Maybe I should buy him those nice dog treats you tell me he’s not allowed to have too much of.”

“I tell you he shouldn’t have them, and you try to buy them.” Kuroko shook his head. “This is why I am the one who owns the pets and you just come over to visit them.”

Akashi picked up Nigou and faced him to Kuroko, “But Tetsuya, he likes them,” he said sadly, while he and Nigou gave Kuroko sad eyes.

“And I like peanuts, but if I eat them I might die. Liking things doesn’t mean that you should have them.” Kuroko replied, not looking at all swayed by the eyes of either of them.

“But the puppy treats won’t kill him. Just make him a little chubby.” Akashi moved to cradle Nigou in his arms. “I don’t think Nigou would mind that much at all.”

“I have told you before that he gets enough of the treats.” Kuroko said, still looking unmoved.

“Why don’t puppy-dog eyes work on you? I’d assume they’d work on you most considering your love for animals.”

“Because I’m the best at them.” Kuroko said, looking at Akashi through his lashes and pouting slightly. “I am the best, right Seijuro?”

Akashi refused to look at Kuroko. It would be dangerous if he did. “You certainly are one of the best at getting what you want.” He wouldn’t give Kuroko the satisfaction of knowing that he really was the best when it came to puppy-dog eyes.

Kuroko gently took Akashi’s chin in his fingers and turned his head to look at him again. “But am I the best at puppy eyes, Seijuro?” He asked, batting his eyelashes a few times.

“I… Suppose... ” Those eyes were just too damn cute. That didn’t mean he had to completely give in though, “But I wonder if Nigou’s are better.”

“Sei, I think mine are the best.” He said, leaning in closer.

Akashi raised an eyebrow at the nickname, “They might be if you call me that again.” There were other forms of winning. This could be one of them. He let Nigou jump down from his arms and held the hand Kuroko had placed on his face.

“Sei.” Kuroko said, batting his eyelashes again with a tiny smile.

He _really_ liked the way that sounded from Kuroko’s voice. “One more time.” At this point their faces were only a few inches apart.

“I think that would be spoiling you, Sei.” Kuroko replied. “Am I the best yet though?”

“I find nothing wrong with being spoiled, and you were always the best.” He let go of Kuroko’s hand but kept their proximity.

Kuroko grinned in victory. “Thank you, Akashi-kun.” He said, leaning back a bit so that they could have some personal space.

Akashi sighed. It was nice while it lasted. “Tetsuya, honestly. It’s been twenty years and you still won’t call me by my first name.”

“I think you would have a heart attack if I started to regularly call you by your first name.”

“Nonsense. Maybe only for the first week but after that I would probably be fine,” Akashi joked.

“I don’t want to give you a week long heart attack. I’m doing this for your health, Akashi-kun.” Kuroko said with mock sincerity.

“But it would be worth it. One of these days, Tetsuya, I will have you only refer to me by my given name.” Akashi donned a half sincere look of reminiscing.

“And how do you plan to make that happen?” Kuroko asked with a curious tilt of his head.

“I have my ways. You should know that Tetsuya.” Really he hadn’t thought up of a way yet. It was a work in progress.

“Your ways that you haven’t tried in the fifteen years you’ve been bugging me to call you that?” Kuroko asked.

“It’s a slow plan, I know. But I’m working on it, slowly but surely.” Akashi sat himself on the couch gesturing for Kuroko to join him.

“You have no plan.” Kuroko decided, laying down and using Akashi’s lap as a pillow, ignoring the pain in his side that flared up at the new position.

Akashi threaded his finger through Kuroko’s hair and absent mindedly played with it. “Why do you doubt me, Tetsuya?”

“Because I know you.” Kuroko said simply, leaning into the touch.

“And have I ever left any of my goals unfulfilled, no matter how long they take?”

“Oh, I’m sure you’ll come up with a plan eventually for it, but you don’t have one now is what I mean.” Kuroko rephrased.

“I don’t think the details are important in this matter,” Akashi stubbornly argued.

“I think they are if you intend for a plan to work, Akashi-kun.” Kuroko’s amusement started to leak into his voice.

“My plan will work. There is nothing to worry about, because my plan will definitely work.” Akashi tried not to immaturely stick out his tongue at Kuroko.

“Of course it will, Seijuro.” Kuroko said consolingly.

Akashi froze at the sound of his name. “That’s just being mean, Tetsuya.”

“I never once claimed to be nice.”

“That is true,” Akashi sighed. He sometimes wondered how much he had influenced Tetsuya during their years together for him to gain such wit. “I sometimes wonder if I’ve taught you too well, and then I remember that you still throw yourself carelessly into fights and realize there’s still much more I need to ingrain into you.”

Kuroko rolled his eyes, and rolled over to hide his face against Akashi’s stomach, gritting his teeth against the pain in his side as he did so since it resulted in him laying on it. He couldn’t change position too quickly though. It might look suspicious, so he would just have to deal. “Will you ever let it go?” He mumbled into Akashi’s shirt.

“Probably not,” he grinned, “But we don’t have go into it again.”

“Thank you.”

They sat in silence for a few minutes before Akashi remembered something that he probably should’ve realized during the conversation earlier. “So. About that kitchen fire... ”

“No…” Kuroko groaned.

“Remind me to properly compensate Kagami for keeping you alive most days,” he smirked.

“You don’t even _like_ Kagami-kun.” Kuroko complained.

“But I don’t _dislike_ him. And he does a pretty good job at keeping you safe and fed when I’m not around.” He also really liked the man’s cooking but Kuroko didn’t need to know that.

“You only stopped disliking him because of that time he and Kise-kun helped me out when I started a fight with six people.” Kuroko reminded him.

“Like I said, he manages to keep you safe while I’m not around. It’s quite convenient.” Akashi moved his fingers through Kuroko’s hair in a way to gently make him look at him.

Kuroko could almost sigh in relief when this gave him the excuse to finally get off of his side, but he made it look like an exasperated sigh instead. “You know, I already have a mother, Akashi-kun.”

“And she is a lovely woman who entrusted me with the well being of her son when he moved out,” Akashi informed him.

“She did _not._ ” Kuroko said disbelievingly.

“She did,” Akashi used his free hand to poke Kuroko’s nose.

“You’re a liar.” Kuroko said, narrowing his eyes at Akashi. “I’m asking her next time she comes over.”

“Feel free to do so, because I do not lie… much.” He added as an after thought.

“Much?” Kuroko arched an eyebrow. “Anything you want to confess, Akashi-kun?”

“A business man never reveals his secrets, Tetsuya. You know that.” Akashi brushed away the thought of his _other_ secrets as well. Ones that Kuroko could never find out about.

“That is not the phrase.” Kuroko argued.

“But it is true none the less.” Akashi countered.

They continued with the arguments until they both ended up asleep on Kuroko’s couch.

* * *

“Emperor-san, this is very dangerous.” The Shadow said, shielding the quivering woman who was sporting a broken arm, and making sure no one got too close to the edges of the roof they were all on. “You won’t live if you fall.”

“Yes, I’m aware of that.” The Emperor had gone up here specifically to force The Shadow to hold back a bit while fighting. He knew The Shadow had no intention of killing him or even letting him die, so up here, he had a slight fighting advantage. “However I would also like to add a few more injuries to the lady scientist if you don’t mind.”

“I do mind.” The Shadow continued to block the way to her. She was crying harder now, because of The Emperor’s words. “You have to get through me to get to her.”

“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. I’ll do whatever you want.” She was pleading to The Emperor. It seemed that The Shadow had missed part of the conversation, seeing as he had no idea what she could be sorry for when she was the one with the broken arm.

“Now if only sorrys could fix everything, wouldn’t the world be a much nicer place?” The Emperor turned pointedly to the woman, “Too bad they don’t. Your past misgivings can, unfortunately, never be undone,” he spat out.

“So, this is about revenge?” The Shadow asked. “You really should stop. Revenge won’t fix whatever you’re angry about. It just makes someone else angry. It’s a cycle of hatred.”

“Is that a popular philosophy currently?” He couldn’t believe how often he was hearing it these days. “I’ve got a friend who’s a fan of yours.” The Emperor pulled a small knife out from his belt, “It’ll be a shame to tell him of your death.” He threw the knife, aiming it directly at The Shadow’s throat.

The shadow ducked just in time to avoid the knife. He glanced behind him for a moment and saw it go over the edge of the roof. “Are you moving up to murder now too, Emperor-san? Perhaps you should listen to this friend of yours if he’s saying similar things.”

“Only you, Shadow.” The Emperor twirled another knife in his fingers. “You’re becoming quite a nuisance.” He stopped his twirling and gripped the knife, ready to throw it, “Your job would be a lot easier if you tried to kill me as well. It being you, I’m sure you might actually manage to come close to succeeding too.”

The Shadow let out a bitter laugh. “It would make my life easier, wouldn’t it? But, I could never do that. Hell, if I saw you in the same position as you’ve put this woman into, I’d do the same for you as I’m doing for her.”

“Interesting,” he would truly never be able to understand people who thought like this. “I believe that makes you more of a vigilante than a hero, although you’ve always been more of a vigilante if you ask me.”

“I never used the term hero. The media seems to have stuck me with that. Just like the name Shadow.” He replied.

“On that matter, I completely understand. The media just looks to be terrible with names it seems.” He didn’t even really understand how they decided to call him The Emperor. “But that doesn’t change the fact that you are in my way.” He threw the knife at The Shadow again, aiming the knife to miss him and hit the woman behind him.

The Shadow moved to shield the woman, letting out a pained shout when the knife buried itself in his arm for his efforts. “I told you. I won’t let you hurt her again.” The Shadow said through gritted teeth, pain clear in his voice despite the voice filters.

“You are such a confusing man. I will never understand you.” The Emperor charged at him, trying to hit him in the stomach. The Shadow doubled over, but still swept out a foot to knock the Emperor’s legs out from under him. The Emperor fell hard onto his back but took the chance to throw another knife up at The Shadow, who this time managed to dodge it without it going near the woman, before he flung himself onto The Emperor, straddling his waist to pin his arms to stop the knife throwing.

“You know, Shadow, I didn’t think you liked me so much,” He tried to push himself out of the hold, but the man was surprisingly  much stronger than he had expected.

“I’ve been criticized for not capturing you, Emperor-san. I’m hoping the police get here soon so that that can stop. I believe this counts as a capture.”

“Ah. Yes, I heard. I regret not being able to do any injury to him. He is such an annoying man. I wish you would’ve let me hit him at least once.”

“Annoyance isn’t a good reason to hit someone.” The Shadow said, tilting his head when he heard police

“Perhaps not, but it is satisfying.” At the sound of police sirens The Emperor deemed it time to leave. “I’m sorry but I must cut our meeting short.” He bent his leg up and forced The Shadow closer to him with his knee. It wasn’t the most comfortable thing to do but he could manage. He looked directly into his eyes and commanded, one of his own eyes turning gold as he did so, “Release me.”

The Shadow tried to fight it, but his body moved on it’s own, forcing him to let go of The Emperor’s wrists and get off of him.

The Emperor casually got up and brushed himself off. “Well then, Shadow, until next time.” He left through the stairs that lead to the roof, quickly descending them. The stairs lead to an emergency exit that wasn’t normally noticed. He silently slipped through the door and managed to avoid the police until he could change.

The Shadow stayed until the police were just arriving to make sure that The Emperor didn’t come back for her. And then he made his way to Midorima’s, who almost had a heart attack when he saw the deep wound in his arm.

* * *

Akashi quickly chopped up the vegetables in a swift motion and dropped them in the stewing pot. He turned to the other side of the small kitchen to look at Kuroko, “Tetsuya, how is the meat? Have you cut it up yet?”

“Was I supposed to be doing that? That sounds like you trusting me in a kitchen.” Kuroko replied.

“And that would be a terrible thing now wouldn’t it. Especially considering how slowly you’re doing it. You’re usually pretty fast with this.” Akashi raised an eyebrow to him in question.

It had been a few days, but his arm still hurt like crazy where the knife had gone in, and it was slowing him down significantly in anything that he needed his arms for. “I’m trying extra hard to not mess this up?” Kuroko tried.

“Your lying is getting worse, Tetsuya.” Akashi walked up to him, turning him around to examine him. “Is anything wrong?”

“Of course not.” Kuroko said, trying to brush it off and reach for the knife again, but flinched slightly at the movement.

Akashi gently grabbed his arm and noticed the look of pain that crossed Kuroko’s face when he did so. He rolled up Kuroko’s sleeve to see most of his lower arm bandaged. “Tetsuya, what happened?” He gave him a stern look.

“I... may have burned myself trying to cook. But Midorima-kun patched me up, so it’s okay.” Kuroko forced a small smile to try and reassure Akashi.

“Tetsuya!” Akashi groaned, “How could you burn yourself so badly and not mention it to me?”

“It … um … it didn’t come up?” Kuroko’s voice sounded weak and he wasn’t looking at Akashi.

“You could at least try to come up with a better excuse,” Akashi sighed. “When did this happen?”

“Yesterday.” He certainly wasn’t going to mention that it had happened on the same day that people started looking into hospital records for stab wounds to the arm to try and find The Shadow.

“You’re going to ruin me with worry one of these days, I swear.” He gently rolled Kuroko’s sleeve back over his arm and pointed towards the living room. “I’ll prepare dinner. You rest your arm.”

“I can still help!” Kuroko protested.

“You injured it from doing the very thing I’m asking you to do now. Cooking. Please at least let your arm heal before giving it another injury.” Akashi was close to begging.

Kuroko sighed. “Fine.” He walked to the couch with his shoulders slumped, and hung his head when he sat down.

Akashi wanted someone to be angry at him, but he really didn’t have anyone to blame. He silently took over Kuroko’s job of cutting up the chicken and dropped it into the pot. All that was left was to prepare the dessert.

“You know, that’s my kitchen you’re kicking me out of.” Kuroko called halfheartedly from the couch.

“One that you can’t seem to stay safe in.” Akashi walked over to him, gently holding his arm again, careful not to touch the wound. “I just want to make sure you don’t strain it.” Akashi pressed a light kiss to where the wound was before releasing him and headed back to the kitchen. “What did you want for dessert?” He called over his shoulder.

“You say that like you still think I can eat enough to manage desert when you feed me. I can barely manage the burgers that Kagami-kun tries to force on me at Maji Burger after a vanilla shake.”

“Did you not want a vanilla dessert then?” He asked, raising a brow.

“No, I do.” Kuroko said, sounding defeated.

“Then what would you like?” He repeated.

“Whatever you can make from the stuff in my fridge.” Kuroko replied, since he wasn’t entirely sure what his fridge contained at the moment because Akashi had shown up at his door with groceries to make dinner with.

Akashi nodded and returned to the kitchen, staying there for another thirty minutes before bringing out two bowls of food. He returned to find Kuroko sleeping on couch, his hair already starting to stick up weirdly. He chuckled as the cute sight, setting the two bowls on the table to shake Kuroko awake. “Tetsuya.” He called quietly with an affectionate smile, “Tetsuya, dinner’s ready.”

“Five more minutes, Sei.” Kuroko mumbled, burying his face in a pillow.

Akashi froze. He took a minute to calm his excited heart at the mumble of the nickname and the cute gesture that followed it. He supposed five more minutes couldn’t hurt. He sat himself down, next to the sleeping Kuroko and waited patiently for the time to pass.

After exactly five minutes, he started to shake Kuroko awake again. “Tetsuya, it’s been five minutes. The food’s getting cold.”

Kuroko groaned, but dragged himself up, blinking sleepily at Akashi. “Food?” He asked, sounding a bit dazed.

Akashi chuckled slightly. “Yes, food.” He handed Kuroko his now lukewarm bowl, grabbing his own in the process.

“Okay.” Kuroko said around a yawn, slowly starting to eat.

“How was your nap?” Akashi asked before taking a bite.

“Not long enough.”

“How much sleep have you been getting? You seem to be tired more than usual lately.” Akashi pointedly looked at the smalls bags under his eyes to prove his point.

“Uhh …” Kuroko looked away, deciding he didn’t want to answer that question. The injuries he kept getting from fighting The Emperor made it hard to sleep with how much he tossed and turned when sleeping.

“Tetsuya,” Akashi’s face and voice were filled with worry, “Is there anything wrong? Are you having nightmares?”

Kuroko shook his head. “No. At least, I don’t think so. If I am I don’t remember them. I’ve just been having some trouble sleeping. I’m sure it will pass.” Kuroko told him.

Akashi frowned. “Tetsuya, if you need them, I have sleeping pills. Your welcome to use them if you want some dreamless nights.”

“You need those. I just keep waking up for some reason. I’m sure it will go away.” He gave Akashi a small smile to reassure him.

“I have plenty. Please take some if your nightmares start to really affect you.” He could always get more and he he didn’t use them as often as he used to.

“I told you, I’m not having nightmares. I’m just having trouble sleeping.” Kuroko told him.

Akashi put down his bowl and raised a hand to Kuroko’s face, fingers grazing over Kuroko’s dark circles. “There’s only so much you can lie to me about, Tetsuya.”

Kuroko frowned. “But I’m really not having nightmares.” He insisted. He was waking up because of injuries, not night terrors.

Akashi sighed, “If you insist, but please tell me if there’s anything bothering you.” He dropped his hand from Kuroko’s face and went back to finishing his food.

* * *

“Have you gained an affinity for roofs, Emperor-san? This is the second time in a row We’ve met on one.” The Shadow said as he arrived on the scene.

“You could say that. I do enjoy looking down at people.” The Emperor said, holding up his victim for the night by the collar, not bothering to face The Shadow.

“Put him down.” The Shadow said, carefully moving closer.

“Hmm...” He pretended to think about it, “No. I don’t think I will.” He pulled out one of his small knives and dug it into the man’s arm, causing a blood curdling scream to leave his captive. “I’m not really done with him yet.”

The Shadow grabbed The Emperor’s shoulder and spun him around to face him so that he could try and get the man out of his grip.

The Emperor had a knife ready in hand and thrust it in the direction of The Shadow, managing to cut him in the side slightly but not embedding it in him like he’d wanted.

The Shadow worked through the pain, managing to pull the captive free. It wasn’t really helping that the man was now trying to cling to him as a shield though, arms wrapped tightly around his waist.

“Shadow, why don’t you ever let me have any fun? It’s not like I’ll kill him.” The Emperor fingered the gun in his belt, waiting for the right opportunity to draw it.

“Your version of fun hurts other people.” The Shadow answered, watching the other carefully for any signs of attack while also trying to push the sobbing man off of him as gently as possible so that he would have better mobility.

“But it doesn’t kill them,” The Emperor reiterated. He watched The Shadow carefully and found a moment where he was distracted enough by the idiot man. He drew his gun and shot two rounds at The Shadow’s chest.

He quickly melded with the man’s shadow, leaving him grasping nothing but air. The Shadow then reappeared a bit closer to The Emperor so that he was no longer being restrained by a hysterical victim but could still block them from harm. “It’s bad enough to be doing harm to others.”

The Emperor slowly stepped backwards, trying not to be too obvious with what he was doing. He held the gun up, still aiming it at The Shadow. “You are such a killjoy,” he mockingly sighed, “It’s not like they won’t heal.”

“Believe me, I’m learning all about healing after meeting you. You’ve turned my friend into a mother hen with all of his worry over the injuries I keep showing up with.” The Shadow said, sounding mildly annoyed.

“Good to know I’ll have someone to return your body to afterwards then,” The Emperor smirked from behind his mask when he felt his heels meet the edge of the building. “I’m sure he’ll be delighted to find out this is where you’ve been getting those injuries.”

“Emperor-san, you’re getting too close to the edge.” The Shadow’s tone was tinged with caution. “You should try to be careful.”

“I’ve been thinking a lot about your words from our last encounter.” He slid one heel closer to the edge.

“Oh? Which ones? We tend to talk a lot.” An unseen eyebrow raising in question.

“You said you’d do the same for me as you do for them,” he smirked, “I would like to test this.” He let himself fall backwards off the building, feeling the wind rush past him as he got closer to the ground.

“Stop!” The Shadow tried to reach out for him, but it didn’t work. He quickly dived after him, despite knowing that this had to be some kind of trap, free falling until he could wrap his arms around The Emperor and let them both melt into the shadows, entering one of the many empty rooms in the building, and crashing to the floor in solid form. The Shadow took labored breaths. It was a lot more energy to turn someone else into a shadow as well, and he’d never really tried to do it before.

It took The Emperor more than a second to adjust to having just turned into a shadow and re-materializing as a solid being. After shaking off the weird feeling as quickly as he could, he flipped their positions, pinning The Shadow to the ground. He pulled out another throwing knife stabbed it into The Shadow’s stomach. “This might hurt a bit,” he joked. He dragged the knife across The Shadow’s stomach twisting it.

The Shadow let out a loud scream as he was blinded for a moment by pain. His body writhed in an instinctive attempt to escape, which only made the knife dig in more. His throat was on fire from the strain of the scream that had come out of it, but it was nothing compared to the pain in his stomach. He wondered if this is what it felt like to die, and if not if he would be able to soon to make the pain stop. He heard something like a sob and felt wetness on his face, and it must be coming from him, because The Emperor’s eyes looked nothing but smug.

Leaving the knife in where it was, The Emperor held The Shadow’s chin in his fingers and forced him to look at him. “Now, before you die,” he stared straight into The Shadow’s eyes, letting one of his own turn bright gold, “tell me who you are.”

“K-Kuroko... Kuroko Tetsuya.” Kuroko gasped out through the pain.

Akashi froze. _No._ That couldn’t be true. He released The Shadow’s hands and slowly brought his own up to his mask, pulling it off. He stared down at the bright blue eyes and soft blue hair that he had run his fingers through more times than he could remember. “T-Tetsuya?” _No!_ How could this _\--_ Why was it _Tetsuya_ underneath him? He removed his own mask, suddenly feeling like it was suffocating him. He could feel tears rolling down his face, but could care less about them. Especially when it was _Tetsuya_ he had been fighting. _Tetsuya_ he had been hurting. _Tetsuya_ who he had been just about to _kill._

Kuroko looked at his friend, vision starting to blur, but still able to recognize the man he had spent most of his life with. “Seijuro?” He mumbled, eyes starting to close. The pain wasn’t so bad any more. He could almost forget it was there. His head felt fuzzy, and he couldn’t figure out why Akashi was there. Hadn’t he been fighting The Emperor? It didn’t really matter though. He was too tired for anything to matter.  

“Tetsuya!” No. No! NO! Tetsuya was _dying_ and it was _his_ fault! “Tetsuya, please! No! Please don’t die! Please! Don’t leave me.” He whimpered the last part. He hugged Kuroko to him tighter than he thought possible, letting the tears fall freely down his face, afraid that if he let go for even a second, Kuroko would be gone.

Kuroko tried to talk, because he could hear his friend’s sadness even through the ringing in his ears, but he didn’t have control of his body, and he could feel consciousness slipping away until there was nothing.


	3. Chapter 3

Kuroko woke up in a hospital bed, unsure of how long he had been asleep, and promptly closed his eyes again against the bright lights that were hurting his head.

Akashi had just been about to fall asleep in his chair, when he noticed some movement coming from the bed. He sprung up from his place and moved directly over to it, hoping Kuroko had woken up. “Tetsuya?”

Kuroko slowly cracked an eye open to look at the person saying his name. He deemed it safe enough to slowly open both eyes with Akashi leaning over him blocking some of the light. “Hello,” he said quietly.

“Tetsuya!” He wrapped his arms around Kuroko, holding him tightly. He had never felt so relieved before. “I was afraid you were gone.”

Kuroko squirmed a bit in Akashi’s arms. “Akashi-kun, that hurts,” he complained.

He flinched at Kuroko’s words. He had sworn to himself to never hurt Kuroko again, and yet that seemed to be all he was able to do. “I’m sorry, Tetsuya. For everything.” He released Kuroko and took a small step away from him, unable to look into his eyes.

Kuroko lay back down on the bed, looking around as he tried to come up with something to say. “Why were you doing it?”

Akashi debated whether or not to tell Kuroko. He didn’t really want to relive it, but he did owe him an explanation. “I... ” He really wasn’t sure how to start. “The people I targeted… The scientists were...” He sighed, this was harder than he wanted it to be. “The scientists I went after gave me my powers. The businessmen were more to ruin my father than anything else.” He hoped his short explanations would suffice at least for now.  

“Okay.” Kuroko was still trying to process all of this. Akashi may have had however long he’d been asleep, but Kuroko had only had a few seconds to realize it was Akashi behind the mask, and he was still trying to figure out how he felt about that.

“I never imagined it would be you under that mask.” Akashi fiddled with his hands, still refusing to meet Kuroko’s eyes. “I really am sorry.” He took a deep breath, steeling himself and looked up at Kuroko, “I… I understand if you no longer wish to see me anymore.”

Kuroko looked at him contemplatively. “Are you planning to continue?” he asked seriously, forcing himself to sit up slightly through the pain so that he could try to meet Akashi’s eyes.

“I… don’t know.” He really wasn’t sure. He still wanted his revenge. He wanted to make those who made him suffer to suffer just as much, but he wasn’t sure if he could. Not after finding out he was the main cause for all of the injuries on the only person he truly cared about. He wasn’t sure if he could handle touching another throwing knife ever again.

"You should probably figure that out then. Because if you are, I won't stop trying to stop you. I'll break out of this hospital if I have to," Kuroko informed him, looking as determined as one could with a wild bed head and wearing a hospital gown.

“No,” Akashi said adamantly. “You will stay here and you will heal. I doubt I’ll be going out much for a while, if at all.” He looked away again. “I will ensure you have a full recovery. After that, I can fade from your life if that is what you wish.”

Kuroko let out a bitter laugh. “You won’t be fading from my life. Because if you continue, you’ll be seeing plenty of me as The Shadow.” He had to lay back down. The pain was getting to him, and black spots were taking over his vision, but he had to talk to Akashi. “But if you can stop hurting people, we can try to work this out. Because I don’t want to lose you.” Kuroko could feel his eyes filling with tears, and he wasn’t sure if it was from physical or emotional pain.

Akashi wasn’t sure he heard that right. Kuroko couldn’t have possibly still want him around. Not after all he had done to him. “Are—are you sure? Even after all I’ve done?”

“You are more than just what you have done as The Emperor,” Kuroko told him seriously, trying to blink the tears away. “But... I think... I’m tired, Akashi-kun,” he said with a small frown, the black spots in his vision getting bigger.

Akashi wiped away the tears that had started to form. “Sleep, Tetsuya.” He walked closer to tuck him in. “We can talk about this more when you wake up.” He patted Kuroko’s hair a few times, hoping to soothe him a bit.

“You’ll stay, right?” Kuroko asked, reaching out and grabbing Akashi’s hand as he started to drift back to sleep.

“If you’ll allow me to.” He still wasn’t really sure if he could be around Kuroko.

“Please?” He wasn’t sure if the word came out or not, but he definitely tried to say it through his sudden tiredness.

“Alright. I’ll stay as long as you wish for me to stay.” He continued to pat Kuroko’s hair until he was sure he was asleep. He kept his hold on Kuroko’s hand with his other hand, raising it to his lips to press a small kiss on Kuroko’s fingers. “I hope you won’t change your mind. Please let me stay by you,” he whispered.

* * *

“Sei?” Kuroko mumbled the next time he woke up, opening blurry eyes to look around for Akashi.

Akashi bit his cheek from guilt. He didn’t really think he deserved to be called that anymore. “I’m here, Tetsuya.” He stood from his chair to stand by Kuroko’s bed.

Kuroko gave him a faint smile. “You stayed.”

“Because you let me.” Akashi tried to smile back, which only resulted in a half-hearted, fake attempt.  

“What happens now?” Kuroko asked after a moment of quiet.

“...I don’t know,” he answered quietly, “What do you want to happen?”

“I want you to stop being The Emperor,” Kuroko told him.

He looked to the floor, not meeting Kuroko’s gaze, “I’ve… thought about it, and I can never forgive those scientists or my father for what they did,” he spoke softly. “But...” He redirected his eyes back to Kuroko’s. “I don’t think I can continue being The Emperor.” He sighed deeply before continuing. “I’ve thought about trying to go out again, and… I couldn’t even look at the mask without thinking about what I did to you.”

“What are you going to do then?” Kuroko asked quietly, placing a hand on Akashi’s arm.

“Well, I probably won’t continue being The Emperor. I don’t think I can, at least not for the time being,” He placed his hand over Kuroko’s. “I’m not sure what else I can do beyond that.”

“You could try to move on with your life. You don’t have to forgive them, but you don’t have to go after them either. You don’t have to hurt people.”

Akashi laughed bitterly. “You know I’m not very good at that.” His grip on Kuroko’s hand tightened a bit.

“I could try to help you. I’m not sure how, but I’d be willing to try,” he offered. He’d been doing that for years. Whenever Akashi tried to go after someone who Kuroko had picked a fight with, Kuroko would have to step in and stop him.

“Are you absolutely sure you want to stay with me? I wouldn’t blame you if you wanted to leave.” Akashi would understand completely if Kuroko no longer wanted to be with him. He wouldn’t be the first to leave him but Akashi knew this time it would be his fault. He wouldn’t resent Kuroko for it.

“If you can stop with the revenge, I can keep being your friend. And even if you couldn’t, I would keep on fighting to stop you. You aren’t getting rid of me either way,” Kuroko told him seriously.

Akashi really couldn’t help but laugh at the situation. He lowered his himself down to rest his forehead on Kuroko’s. “You’re too good for me, Tetsuya.”

“I disagree,” Kuroko replied. “But I do care about you, and I will not abandon you.”

He reached up to run his fingers through Kuroko’s hair, not separating his forehead from Kuroko’s. “I will never fully understand you.”

“You’ve been saying that since we were little kids.” Kuroko replied with a tiny smile.

“And yet my statement still holds true,” Akashi smiled back. He almost started to think that he’d forgotten how to smile. He hadn’t been able to since that night.

“It seems like I’ll just remain a mystery. After all, I’m pretty sure that’s why you like me in the first place.”

“At first, yes. You intrigued me when we first met. Now...” He gave Kuroko an affectionate look, “Now there’s nothing about you I don’t like.”

“I’m sure there are things about me you don’t like. You don’t like that I don’t go to hospitals. You don’t like me cooking. You don’t like my taste in cars. You don’t like that I pick fights with people. You didn’t like me as The Shadow.” Kuroko started listing things.

“But those things are a part of you, and I could never hate something if it’s you. They certainly do annoy me though.” He laughed.

Kuroko tilted his head a bit so that he could brush his lips against Akashi’s. He’d restrained himself from doing that for years because he couldn’t enter a relationship with someone when he was keeping such a big secret, but now Akashi knew everything.

It took Akashi more time than it should have to process what Kuroko had done. Once fully understanding that it was not an accidental brush, and that Kuroko had just purposefully kissed him, he surged forward, returning the kiss. He couldn’t begin describe how long he had wanted to do this.

Kuroko tangled his fingers in Akashi’s hair, and tried to sit up to be closer to him. The movement caused him to let out a pained gasp though, and he laid back immediately, blinking a few times to clear water from his eyes. “Maybe I should have waited until I wasn’t injured to do that…” He mumbled sheepishly after a moment to get his breathing back to normal, blush forming on his face.

Akashi immediately regretted losing control of himself. Kuroko was not in the right condition for this; he knew that. “I’m sorry, Tetsuya. I should let you rest.” He pulled away from Kuroko, standing up straight and untangling his fingers from Kuroko’s hair.

“You’re sorry?” Kuroko’s brows scrunched together in confusion. “I’m the one who kissed you though. It’s my fault.”

“I lost control of myself.” Akashi frowned.

“I’m the one who sat up. That’s when it started hurting. It wasn’t your fault,” Kuroko insisted.

Akashi didn’t really want to argue with Kuroko while he was in his injured state. “Alright,” he half-heartedly agreed.

Kuroko narrowed his eyes, but decided he’d take it. It was kind of a victory against Akashi, even if his friend didn’t mean it.

* * *

“Akashi-kun, I want to go home,” Kuroko whined a few weeks into his stay at the hospital. “I miss Nigou and Turtle.”

“I promise you I’m taking care of them. You still have a while before you fully heal.” Akashi stopped his typing to look at Kuroko. He was trying to finish some of work he had been avoiding while visiting Kuroko at the hospital.

“I want to be healed now though so I can go see them. Also, they don’t have milkshakes here. I think I’m having withdrawal.”

He closed the laptop in his lap, putting it down on the chair to stand beside Kuroko’s bed. “I wasn’t going to suggest this until you had healed more but if you really want to get out of here, how would you feel about continuing your treatment at my house instead?”

Kuroko looked confused. “What do you mean?”

“I can have you moved to my house and have a doctor visit you everyday for a check up instead of staying here.” Technically he could have this done at Kuroko’s apartment instead of his house but he’d prefer it to be his house. There was more room at his place too, which made things slightly easier.

Kuroko looked like Christmas had come early. “So, I’m allowed to leave then?” he asked excitedly.

“Yes, you can get out of here.” He loved seeing Kuroko excited. It was really cute.

“How soon can we do that?”

“I’ve already suggested it to the doctors. If I ask them to move the moving date up then hopefully by next week..” It had taken a bit of effort to get the doctors to agree since Kuroko was so injured but a little bit of extra money was all it took to get their approval.

Kuroko smiled brightly at him. “Thank you, Akashi-kun.” He might have hugged him if he were in a different scenario.

“Anytime, Tetsuya.” Akashi brushed Kuroko’s bangs out of his eyes, leaving his hand on Kuroko’s cheek. “Anything you want, I will do whatever I must to get it.” It was the least he could do after all he’d done to him.

* * *

“Oh my God, real clothes feel so much nicer than hospital stuff,” Kuroko said to Akashi as they were leaving the hospital.

“I don’t know… You’re butt was pretty cute sticking out of that hospital gown.” Akashi snickered. He was going to drop by Kuroko’s place first for him to get a few of his things before going back to his own home where Kuroko would be staying for the next little while.

Kuroko blushed bright red. “I never would have taken Akashi-kun to be the pervert type. I thought that was only Aomine-kun.”

“Tetsuya, I am hurt. To be compared to Daiki is more insulting than I can bear.” Akashi put a hand to to his chest feigning hurt.  

“Would you prefer I compare you to Kise-kun?” Kuroko asked, a hint of mischievousness showing through at the comment even though he was still blushing.

“Please don’t.” That would be too much. “I couldn’t help but notice though. You toss and turn so much in your sleep it was almost impossible for your gown to stay in place.” Akashi chuckled.

“I need to figure out some way to not do that. It’s not good for injuries,” Kuroko remarked, looking down at his stomach, despite not being able to see it through his shirt.

“I believe some people stop by hugging something while they sleep. Should I get you a hugging pillow?” Akashi pulled up into the parking lot of Kuroko’s apartment and got out to help Kuroko. The hospital was actually really close to Kuroko’s house despite Kuroko avoiding it as much as he possibly could.

“I’ve woken up while hugging pillows before. I don’t think it makes much of a difference,” Kuroko said, wrapping an arm around Akashi to lean against him.

“I’m not really sure how to help then. Maybe I should ask Shintarou if he knows any methods that may help.” Akashi helped him up to his apartment, opening the door for him and leading him to his room. “What were you thinking of bringing?” Akashi set Kuroko down onto the bed and started looking around for a bag he could use.

Nigou came running over, barking and wagging his tail as he hopped up on the bed next to Kuroko, who laughed and started scratching his ears. “Turtle and Nigou for sure. Some of my clothes, I suppose. My toothbrush, because I didn’t like the one they gave me in the hospital. I can’t really think of anything else I need.”

Akashi nodded and started to rummage through Kuroko’s closet pulling out shirts he thought looked nice on Kuroko and placing them on the bed. He would find a bag later. Partway through his rummaging he pulled out a shirt that looked awfully familiar. “Tetsuya… Is this _my_ shirt?”

“No…” Kuroko said after glancing at it. “That is my shirt.”

“Are you sure?” Akashi raised an eyebrow. “Because this looks a lot like one of the ones I have been looking for for months.”

“Well… you found it. And it is mine now,” Kuroko told him, pulling the shirt against his chest.

“Tetsuya, I liked that shirt,” he laughed. He really didn’t mind that much. He had plenty of shirts to spare, but Kuroko was acting very cute over this.

“And you will like it more on me, because it is now my shirt.”

“Well… I suppose you’re not wrong...” He briefly let himself imagine his clothes on Kuroko and quickly erased the thought before he got too carried away.

“Great, then can you pack the other two shirts that have also become mine over the past few years?” Kuroko asked with a smile.

“I’m starting to wonder if it’s a good idea to let you live near my closet for the next few weeks,” Akashi joked, pulling out two shirts he recognized as his and placing them on the bed with the rest of the pile.

“It might not be.” Kuroko agreed. “But considering I’ve only got three of them, and I’ve had plenty of opportunity to steal more, I think you’re safe.”

“Let’s hope.” Akashi switched to getting pants and undergarments, pulling them out one by one and placing them next to the shirts. He thankfully found a bag deeper in the closet and gave it to Kuroko to put his things into it.

Kuroko had to pull Nigou out of the bag several times as he loaded it with his things, and the dog kept trying to lick his face every time he lifted him up. “Sei, can you hold him for a moment so that I can actually pack my clothes?” Kuroko asked as Nigou got back into the bag, not seeming to notice that he’d used the nickname.

Akashi stopped what he was doing and slowly approached Kuroko, placing his hands on his shoulders. “Please say that again...”

“Huh?” Kuroko looked up. “Say what again?”

“What you just called me.” Akashi lowered himself so that he could look Kuroko in the eye, “Please say it again.”

Kuroko mentally reviewed his words, and his eyes lit up in understanding. “Oh. Sei. That’s what you wanted me to say, right?” he asked with a tilt of his head.

Akashi moved forward, pressing his lips to Kuroko’s, pushing him down onto the bed as he did so. He did his best to climb on top of Kuroko without agitating his wound too much.

Kuroko was a bit taken aback, but kissed back, nipping lightly at Akashi’s bottom lip. “Sei…” he breathed out against Akashi’s mouth.

Akashi parted his lips to let Kuroko slide his tongue in. He ran his fingers through Kuroko’s hair with one hand while supporting most of his weight with the other.

Kuroko wrapped his arms around Akashi’s shoulders, pulling him closer and exploring Akashi’s mouth with his tongue.

Akashi hesitantly parted their lips when air became a necessity, pressing a kiss to Kuroko’s cheek once they were parted. ”I like it when you call me that.”

“I noticed.” Kuroko replied, before leaning up to kiss him again.

Akashi moved his hand down over Kuroko’s body and slid it up his shirt, immediately stopping once he brushed over a large section covered in bandages that caused Kuroko to let out a small gasp of pain. Akashi quickly parted their lips and climbed off of Kuroko, backing away to the closet. “I...I’m sorry.” He didn’t look at Kuroko.

Kuroko tried to reach for Akashi to keep him from moving away, but he’d already gotten off of the bed and was standing too far away. “It’s okay. I’m fine.”

Akashi frowned. “Tetsuya, you don’t have to keep lying to make me feel better.”

Kuroko frowned right back. “What are you talking about? I don’t lie to spare people’s feelings. Ask anyone. Especially Kise-kun. He comments all the time on how I don’t spare his feelings.”

“You can’t expect me to believe that you are fine!” Akashi practically shouted. “Not after what I did to you.”

Kuroko flinched a little at the unexpected volume. “I’ve been better, but I’m not dead, I’m not screaming in pain, so I’m fine.”

“But you _could have_ been dead and you _were_ screaming in pain.” Akashi nervously rubbed his arm. “Tetsuya, I tried to kill you. How can you be okay with that?”

Kuroko had to think about that. He shouldn’t be okay with it, should he? “Because I can’t stand the idea of my life without you, so I have to be okay with it. It was either stay angry and kick you out of my life, or let it go and keep you. And I’m choosing you every time.”

“But wouldn’t it be better for you if I was gone?” Akashi whispered. “You might be safer without me.”

“What are you talking about? Do you know how many times I would have gotten beaten up for picking fights if you weren’t there? Akashi Seijuro, you have been a part of my life for twenty years, and I want that number to keep increasing. I do not want to lose you,” he said, forcing himself to his feet to try and move closer to Akashi so that he would have to look him in the eyes.

“I tried to _kill_ you. I almost succeeded too. In those twenty years I have never seen anyone more of a threat to you than myself,” Akashi argued.

Kuroko sighed and got up, turning his back to Akashi to rummage through his nightstand drawer. “Hang on a moment.”

“Tetsuya?” Akashi eyed his movement suspiciously, suddenly cautious of the situation. A feeling in his gut told him he wasn’t going to like what Kuroko was planning to do.

“I’m trying to find something. I know I keep it here . . .” He mumbled as he searched. “Ah!” He exclaimed when he found what he was looking for.

Akashi arched a brow, unable to see what Kuroko had just pulled out. He stayed where he was, unsure of how to react or what to do.

Kuroko let his sleeves slide down so that Akashi couldn’t see what he was holding before turning to him with a sweet smile as he approached.

Akashi relaxed momentarily at the sight of Kuroko’s smile, the sweet smile that he had grown up cherishing, but immediately tensed again. Something was wrong. “Tetsuya what...” He couldn’t finish his sentence.

When Kuroko finally reached him he raised his arm and let the sleeve drop, revealing the knife he was holding and pressing it up against Akashi’s throat, putting enough pressure on the skin that a few drops of blood rolled down his neck.

Akashi stood stalk still, frozen. “Te-Tetsuya, what are you… What are you doing?” He could barely register the slight pain coming from his neck where the knife had pierced him, too shocked to acknowledge it. What did Kuroko think he was doing? Why? Was this his way of getting back at him? If it was then Akashi would accept it. He was in no position to deny Kuroko the right to act on what he was feeling.

He tried to keep the smile in place, but it was shaky. His hands were steady though. He wouldn’t let them shake in such a dangerous situation. “You didn’t know who I was when you hurt me.” He said, moving the knife lower and slicing into Akashi’s collar bone, not very deep, but enough to cause pain and draw more blood, hating the action as he did it. “I know who I’m doing this to.”

Akashi winced slightly that time, but accepted the pain. He could handle this pain, he didn’t mind it. Kuroko’s words however were odd to him. “What do you mean?” His voice was barely above a whisper.

Kuroko took a deep breath and continued, digging the knife a little deeper. “I mean . . . You weren’t trying to hurt _me_. You were trying to hurt someone standing in the way of your goal, and what you’re upset about is hurting _me._ But you didn’t. You hurt The Shadow. It just turned out that I happened to be him when the mask was removed, but you had no way of knowing that. I, right now, am hurting Akashi Seijuro with full knowledge of what I’m doing and who you are, and while I may be hurting you less than you hurt The Shadow, it is far worse because I am intending to hurt a person I care about.” The smile completely fell and he was biting his lower lip as he tried to keep his emotions in check, dragging the knife a few inches lower.

This time Akashi let out an audible hiss as Kuroko continued to dig the knife into him. His body desperately wanted him to stop Kuroko. To reach up and just remove the knife, but he wouldn’t do it. He would let Kuroko finish what he started. He knew what Kuroko was saying and he knew he was right, and yet the guilt still stayed. He let a hand reach up to Kuroko’s face, his thumb stroking his bitten lip. “Then why do I feel as though I’m the one still hurting you, Tetsuya?”

“No.” Kuroko said, shaking his head both to reject what Akashi was saying and to get his hand off of him. He couldn’t do this if Akashi was touching him and looking at him with concern. He made himself look back into Akashi’s eyes and put more pressure on the knife. “No, I’m hurting you, and that hurts me. It’s not the same as you being the one hurting me. I am choosing to do this.” He blinked back tears, not willing to let them fall yet. “You never once intended to hurt me. I can’t remember a single time you have purposely hurt me, and I will not count anything that happened between The Shadow and The Emperor, because it wasn’t intended to hurt each other. The Shadow has hurt The Emperor before, but I refuse to count that as me hurting you. This—” He pressed harder, feeling some of the blood run down the knife and onto his fingers. “—is what me hurting you looks like. It’s a completely different thing.”

Akashi couldn’t argue. Not with the look Kuroko was giving him. Not when he knew Kuroko was right. “Alright,” he relented with a quiet, strained whisper. “You’re right.” He finally let himself reach up to the hand that held the knife, gently placing his own on top of Kuroko’s wrist, but didn’t make Kuroko pull the knife away. His other hand he raised back towards Kuroko’s face, wiping away the unfallen tears from the corner of his eye. “You win, Tetsuya.”

Kuroko moved his hand away from Akashi, dropping the knife onto the floor before almost collapsing against his friend, letting out a choked sob into his chest, careful not to touch where the knife had been when he wrapped his arms around Akashi’s shoulders. “Don’t ever make me do something like that again. You feel guilty, I feel guilty, we are even.”

Akashi wrapped his arms around Kuroko as well, keeping one around his waist and the other in his hair. “Must you go to such extremes, Tetsuya?” He held him tightly, not realizing that his own tears were falling.

“When you think you’re right about something, one has to go to extremes to even try to change your mind,” Kuroko mumbled into his shirt, trying and failing to get his tears to stop.

Akashi let out a choked, bitter laugh. “I hate it when you’re right.” His cuts were starting to sting but he ignored the pain. He didn’t want to separate from Kuroko for any reason, not even if the wounds were bleeding more profusely than he would have admitted.

“Of course you do. It usually means that you were wrong.” Kuroko made himself pull back, and wiped his tears away. “We should probably do something about your injuries. I have a first aid kit in my kitchen.”

“Only because you’re the only one ever willing to prove me wrong.” Akashi was reluctant to let go of Kuroko but the pain was starting to get worse and his shirt was covered in more blood than he would’ve liked for Kuroko to see. He nodded and let Kuroko pull him towards the kitchen to be treated.

“Most people don’t want to put in the effort to prove someone so stubborn wrong. I think you’re worth that effort,” Kuroko replied, determinedly not looking at all of the blood as he led Akashi to the kitchen, getting out the first aid kit. “Take off your shirt, it’s in the way,” he said, since the bottom of the cut seemed to be right at the shirt’s edge.  

“I’ll take that I’m worth the effort as a compliment.” He peeled off his shirt, half of it sticking to him due to the blood. He grimaced at the sight of how much had dripped down his chest. He looked back up to Kuroko, worried for how he would react. “Maybe I should go clean myself first before you dress it.”

Kuroko grit his teeth and shook his head. “No, I’ll handle it.” He assured him, taking out some of the disinfectant wipes from the kit and starting to clean off the blood and cuts.

Akashi tried to repress his reaction for Kuroko’s sake but the instant the disinfectant touched him he let out an unwilling hiss in of pain. “I’m fine,” he reassured Kuroko before he could react. “It’s fine. It’s not as bad as that sounded.”

Kuroko glared at him. “Don’t lie to me,” he reprimanded, before going back to cleaning Akashi’s wounds, hands only shaking a little bit as he had to replace the disinfectant wipes he was using with new ones because the first had too much blood on them.

“No, they’re fine, Tetsuya, I promise. They don’t hurt that much.” He managed to suppress any other sounds of pain past the first one, his teeth gritting against each other through his effort.

Kuroko finally finished cleaning up the cuts and quickly bandaged them before they could start bleeding again. Well, before the one on Akashi’s collarbone could start bleeding again, since that was the bad one.

Once Kuroko had tied his bandages, Akashi hesitantly placed a hand over Kuroko’s. Kuroko’s hands had been shaking on and off for a while now. Akashi laced their fingers together, hoping to stop the shaking. Meeting his eyes, Akashi reached his other hand up to stoke Kuroko’s cheek with his thumb. “I’m okay.”

“And so am I. It doesn't seem to make you feel better either,” he replied.

Akashi sighed and pulled Kuroko into a hug from where he sat, wrapping his arms around his waist and pressing has forehead against Kuroko’s shoulder, minding his injury. “You know this will take me some time. I won’t get over it or forgive myself, but I’ll accept it. Eventually. And I know it's the same for you. It just hurts seeing you so hurt.” He knew that Kuroko knew he meant more than just physically.

“I know,” Kuroko said quietly, returning the hug. “And I know it will take time. I just want to try to make it take _less_ time, because I want both of us to feel better as soon as possible.”

“We’ll get there somehow. For now though, you don’t have to try to hide your feelings from me. I understand.” Akashi lifted his head from Kuroko’s shoulder to look him in the eyes.

Kuroko narrowed his eyes at Akashi. “You literally just lied to me about your feelings. Less than five minutes ago. I never said I wasn’t upset.”

“Feelings and physical are quite different things, Tetsuya.” Akashi blinked up at Kuroko innocently even though he knew it was a wasted effort.

“Really? So you would be okay with me not telling you that I have definitely been moving around too much after being injured so recently since I’m just now starting to feel a little dizzy? After all, it is just a physical feeling,” Kuroko replied, raising an eyebrow at Akashi.

Akashi’s eyes instantly darkened. “Is that so?” He stood from his chair and picked Kuroko up.

Kuroko’s eyes widened before narrowing into a glare. “That was not invitation to lift me off the ground,” he protested.

Akashi carried him to his bedroom, ignoring his protests. He gently placed him onto the bed. “No more moving for you. I’ll finish up your packing and carry you to the car.”

“You are _not_ carrying me to the car. I will walk to the car on my own,” Kuroko said as Nigou peeked out from inside of his bag, playfully growling at Akashi when the redhead moved towards said bag.

Akashi gave Nigou a few pats on the head before going back his task at hand. Pulling clothes out of Kuroko’s closet. “I never said they were just physical feelings. I said that physical pain and emotional pain are different. And right now even if my physical injuries are more recent, yours are still more serious and take precedence.”

“I still could have made it up here on my own,” Kuroko mumbled.

“A shame that you’re not going to get a chance to prove your point.” He threw the last of the clothes he was sure Kuroko wore into the bag, taking Nigou out to make room. He threw the bag over his shoulder and moved to pick Kuroko up again, signalling for Nigou to follow him. He would return for Turtle.

Kuroko shifted away from Akashi, glaring at him. “I want to walk to the car,” he said firmly.

“Yes, Tetsuya, I will absolutely let you walk to the car after having been told that it hurts enough that it’s making you dizzy,” Akashi responded sarcastically, trying again to pick him up.

Kuroko batted Akashi's hand away. "I will walk," he said, sitting up and moving to get out of bed.

Akashi sighed, knowing Kuroko was not going give up on this and he was honestly quite tired from everything that had happened today. “Fine, but you go straight to the car. I’ll be there in a few minutes. I just need to get Turtle.” Akashi inwardly cringed at how much he sounded like a mother but he felt the instructions were necessary considering it was Kuroko.

Kuroko wanted to reply, but decided not to push his luck and simply went to the car as instructed so that he wouldn't get picked up again.

Quickly transferring Turtle into his portable case and taking a quick glance around the apartment to be sure he didn’t forget anything, he left and headed for the car which Kuroko was thankfully actually in. Helping Nigou in and placing Turtle on Kuroko’s lap, he got into the driver’s seat and started the car. “I hope you won’t miss it too much. The doctors have instructed that you stay with me for quite a while.”

"I stay over at your house all the time anyway. It's practically a second home,” he said with a shrug as Nigou jumped into his lap.

Akashi nodded, “Alright then.” And with that he drove off.

* * *

“Akashi-kun, I am perfectly capable of feeding my dog,” Kuroko complained when Akashi took the dog food bag away from him and carried it to the bowl instead.

“I’m sure you are,” Akashi agreed but continued carrying the bag towards the bowl, filling it up for him.

“Then why are you doing it for me?” Kuroko asked as Nigou ran in, happily starting to eat his food.

“Because you don’t have to. You’re also supposed to be on bed rest.” Akashi put the bag away and gently pushed Kuroko back to the bedroom he had given him.

“Doing small things like feeding my dog won’t kill me,” he protested, digging his heels into the carpet to try and stop the pushing.

“And not doing it also won’t kill you, but also has the added bonus of not straining your injury. Don’t make me carry you there,Tetsuya.” Akashi was fully ready to act on his threat.

Kuroko glared at him. “You need to stop doing that.”

Akashi smiled innocently at him, “Why? I’m only looking out for your well being by taking as much stress and strain off of you as possible.”

“Liar,” Kuroko accused.

“How is that a lie? I really do just want to help you recover.” Akashi acted offended, but a smile broke managed to break through his facade.

“You just like annoying me, and you know doing things for me that I can do myself does that. Like walking, for instance. I can walk on my own. I do not need to be carried,” Kuroko replied.

“Then please walk on your own to your bedroom so I can make you dinner. Nigou’s not the only one who needs to eat.” With that he continued pushing Kuroko towards his bedroom, paying no mind to the fact that Kuroko’s heels were dragging across the floor.

“I don’t want to. I’ve been staying in there for a week,” Kuroko complained, valiantly trying without much success to stop moving.

“Because you are on bedrest. You’re supposed to be there and I bring you things.” Akashi finally managed to get Kuroko to his room and picked him up to place him on his bed.

“Yes, Mom,” Kuroko muttered, glaring at the wall instead of looking at Akashi.

“I resent that. I treat you much different than a mother would.” As if to prove his point, he leaned down to place a soft kiss on Kuroko’s forehead.

“Mother, that’s a weird thing to do to your child.”

“Well, if I’m so much like a mother then maybe I should ground you and cut down on the amount of vanilla I put in your food.” Akashi slowly got up to move away from Kuroko, with a teasing smile.

“Sei, why would you do that to me?” Kuroko asked, pouting up at him.

“Because I’m a terrible person.” Akashi childishly stuck his tongue out, something he would only ever do in front of Kuroko.

“Fine. Then you're grounded too. No more touching me,” Kuroko said firmly.

Akashi faltered and his face fell, “Tetsuya, why?” He sat on the edge of Kuroko’s bed trying desperately to draw him into a hug.

Kuroko scooted further away from Akashi. “No. If I can’t have vanilla you can’t touch,” he replied, looking at Akashi impassively.

Akashi sighed and sat up straight to look Kuroko in the eye, ceasing his efforts of trying to hug Kuroko. “Vanilla parfait.”

“Vanilla milkshake,” Kuroko replied. “From Maji Burger.” He added the last part knowing that Akashi hated him eating fast food because of its lack of nutrition.

Akashi could feel his eyebrow twitch at the mention of the fast food establishment. He refused to call it a restaurant. “I make you a vanilla milkshake.”

“No deal,” Kuroko said with a shrug, lying back in the bed, and only looking at Akashi out of the corner of his eye to make sure that the other didn’t try to touch him.

“Why must it be from that place? They vend their milkshake out of a machine. I could make you one just as good and it would have actual ingredients and actual vanilla.” He would never understand Kuroko’s fascination with that place.

“It has to be from Maji or no deal,” Kuroko said resolutely.

Akashi entertained the idea of just saying no, but he knew that he couldn’t live with not being able to touch Kuroko in some way, even if it was just a simple graze. “Fine,” he relented, “I’ll get you a milkshake from that place for dinner, but you have to finish everything I make for you tonight.”

Kuroko shook his head. "Nope. I want just the milkshake."

“Tetsuya, you are _not_ having just a milkshake for dinner,” Akashi firmly stated.

"Why not?" Kuroko arched an eyebrow.

“Because it is unhealthy and not nutritional. I didn’t get you out of the hospital to stop looking after your health. You will have an actual meal.” Akashi refused to budge on this.

"No," Kuroko said, turning his back on Akashi.

“Tetsuya, I will spoon-feed you if I have to.” Akashi steadily approached Kuroko, making sure to not make any sound.

"No," he repeated.

Akashi gently climbed onto the bed and before Kuroko could react he pulled Kuroko into a tight hug, pressing his chest against Kuroko’s back.

"You're not supposed to touch." Kuroko complained.

“Just for a few minutes,” Akashi mumbled, “I just need enough to last me a while.” He buried his face into the crook of Kuroko’s neck, giving it a gentle kiss.

“No. It’s supposed to be incentive for you to let me have the milkshake. That doesn't work if you just stock up on touching me.”

“Well I’m not going to let you just have vanilla-flavoured fat for dinner so I’m going to need to stock up for the next little while.”

“Nope. If I don’t get my milkshake for dinner after you threatened to take vanilla away from me, you don’t get to hug me,” Kuroko said, trying to push Akashi away.

Akashi held on for a few more seconds before finally letting go and moving off the bed. “I’ll bring dinner to you when it’s ready.”

“I will not eat it,” Kuroko said firmly. “You know, I do vanilla milkshakes for dinner all the time. You’re going to give me withdrawsl, Sei.”

Akashi steeled himself, not letting any visible reaction show from the use of the nickname. “I never agreed to your habit of just a milkshake for dinner and I’m certainly not agreeing to it now.”

“Why do you hate me?”

“Tetsuya, do not give me those eyes. You know very well that I feel the exact opposite of that.”

“It seems pretty hateful to deprive me of my milkshakes,” Kuroko replied, adding a pout to the sad eyes he was giving Akashi.

“It is not. It’s caring. I do it because I care for your health, and I never said I wasn’t going to get you the milkshake, I said I was not getting you just a milkshake.” Akashi kept Kuroko’s gaze refusing to cave under the pout and eyes.

“But Seijuro, I love you, and you hate me,” he said, looking down at his hands.

Akashi groaned. He approached Kuroko once again and held his face in a tight grip, ensuring Kuroko couldn’t move away. He dove down sealing his lips with Kuroko’s for a deep kiss.

Kuroko made a muffled sound of protested, but couldn’t quite bring himself to even try to pull away, although Akashi’s hold on his face was a bit uncomfortable for presumably that reason.

Akashi slowly pulled away, stroking a cheek with his thumb before pinching both of them. “You know I love you. Don’t cheat.”

“Ow!” Kuroko exclaimed when Akashi pinched his cheeks. “Stop that!”

Akashi let go and pressed a kiss to each cheek, hoping to soothe the pain a bit. “I’ll be back with dinner soon.” He quickly left the room before Kuroko could continue to protest.

Akashi came back into Kuroko’s room half an hour later holding a tray of food and a medium milkshake from Maji Burger. “Now, am I going to need to force-feed you?”

“No. I will drink the milkshake without force,” he said, taking it from the tray and happily sipping at it.

“But will I need to force-feed the rest of it? Because you’re going to eat it.” Akashi set the tray down on the bedside table, giving Kuroko an expectant look.

“No I’m not,” Kuroko said around the straw of his shake, watching Akashi suspiciously.

“You are either going to get these nutrients in the form of food or in the form of supplements, so please just make this easier for me and eat it.” Akashi was wondering if he was going to have to beg.

“Just let me have my milkshake in peace.” Kuroko almost whined.

“Just a few bites. I’ll finish what you don’t, just take a few bites of it. And a few does not mean less than three.” Akashi was tempted to confiscate the milkshake.

“I don’t want any more than just this. It’s enough for me, Akashi-kun.”

“I know you don’t _want_ any more than that but you need more. I technically shouldn’t even be giving you this milkshake.” Akashi picked up some food with the chopsticks, holding it up to Kuroko with a pleading look.

Kuroko didn’t move his lips from around the straw. “Well I’m certainly not letting you feed me.” He mumbled around it, not opening his mouth enough for Akashi to try and put food into it while he was talking.

“Then will you feed yourself?” Akashi lowered the food but didn’t put it back on the plate, prepared for Kuroko to answer ‘no’.

“I am feeding myself.” He gestured to the milkshake before taking another long sip of it to prove his point.

Akashi raised to food back up to Kuroko’s lips. “You know what I meant, don’t be cheeky, Tetsuya.”

Kuroko leaned away from it, holding his milkshake protectively, pretty sure that Akashi’s next move would be an attempt to take it from him.

Akashi sighed, placing the food down and gave Kuroko a warning look. “Tetsuya,” he said sternly.

“Seijuro,” Kuroko replied. He had been barely allowed to move around on his own for three weeks, he felt justified in being a little childish about this one thing, considering he hadn’t been allowed to do anything for himself.

Akashi picked the chopsticks and food up again and promptly climbed onto the bed, sitting on Kuroko’s lap. He took the milkshake out Kuroko’s hand and pushed the food into his mouth. “I’ll give it back to you after you have at least two more bites of food.”

Kuroko arched an eyebrow. “This isn’t the most stable position, Akashi-kun.” He said, before standing up, which caused Akashi to fall off the bed when there was no longer a lap to sit on.

If anyone had asked, Akashi would have denied having let out a yelp as he fell. Standing up he glared at Kuroko. “I’m surprised you would risk your milkshake like that.” He had managed to save the milkshake from spilling during his fall.

Kuroko didn’t answer, and simply reached for said milkshake.

Akashi moved away with the milkshake and pointed at the plate of food. “Two bites and you get it back.”

“I don’t want any more food, Akashi-kun. I will be full with just the milkshake.”

Akashi arched a brow. “Then will you at least take the supplement pills if you don’t eat the food?”

Kuroko looked exasperated. “Akashi-kun, I am _fine._ I do this all the time, and I am perfectly fine doing it once after three weeks of only eating healthy food.”

“Yes but all the times you’ve done it, you weren’t recovering from a severe injury.” One that Akashi would never forgive himself for. “At least let me ensure that you heal fine and healthy before you completely go back to your terrible habits.”

“Akashi-kun, I’m an adult. I can take care of myself.”

“I know,” Akashi sighed, “I know. That doesn’t mean it’ll stop me from worrying and caring.”

“I know that, but I already have a mother, and I love you in a completely different way than I do her.”

Akashi was never one to admit that he was weak, but apparently that never applied when it came to Kuroko. With another sigh, he approached Kuroko, wrapping his arms around him while still holding the milkshake and kissed him. Pulling apart, he leaned his forehead on Kuroko’s, looking into his eyes. “That’s not fair, Tetsuya.”

“It’s completely fair, and it’s true,” Kuroko replied with a tiny smile.

Akashi pressed a soft kiss to Kuroko’s forehead and then another to his lips, whispering against them. “Tetsuya, I love you more than you could possibly understand.”

“I think you’re wrong about me not being able to understand,” Kuroko whispered back.

Quietly chuckling, Akashi pressed one last kiss to Kuroko’s lips before moving back slightly to replace himself with the straw of the milkshake. “You are a terribly manipulative person.”

“One could argue that I learned it from you. I like to think I was a sweet child,” Kuroko said before happily sipping at the milkshake again.

“I wouldn’t doubt that.” Akashi placed Kuroko’s hands back on the milkshake and moved to clean up the barely touched food, detaching himself from Kuroko. “I can’t say you had many unkind qualities before my influence.”

“Many? That sounds like you’re implying that I had any. I’ll have you know I was angelic.”

Akashi stopped his cleaning to quietly scoff. “I’ll have to admit, and please don’t hold this over me, but I’d say that you still are.” He made to leave the room but not before pecking Kuroko on the cheek. “Even if I have to fight for your affections over a milkshake,” he called over his shoulder.

“I do love you almost as much as milkshakes,” Kuroko said teasingly.

"If I didn't know you better, I might have thought that was a teasing lie." Akashi left Kuroko for a few minutes to put away the food before returning to Kuroko's bedroom. "When will my love win over this terribly unhealthy concoction?"

“If by win you mean make me stop drinking it, never,” Kuroko said, drinking the last few sips of it.

"I actually meant more along the lines of not having to wait for you to finish drinking it before trying to kiss you again." He removed the empty cup from Kuroko's hand and put it on the bedside table. He picked Kuroko up and gently set him down onto the bed and climbed in with him, holding him close.

“That will still probably be never, but I’m free to kiss you now.” Kuroko replied, smiling up at Akashi, and wrapping his arms around him.

"I can only hope to one day be more appealing than that drink." He pulled Kuroko's face to his and kissed him deeply while his hand ran up and down Kuroko's side, mindful of his wound.

Kuroko kissed back happily, tangling his fingers in Akashi’s hair.

Akashi parted their lips only when air became a necessity, and pressed a small kiss to the tip of Kuroko's nose. "Should I stay here tonight?" Akashi meant it in an innocent way. He had decided that they wouldn’t have sex until Kuroko was fully healed.

Kuroko nodded, and smiled at him. “That would be nice. You should just stay here every night though,” he offered.

"I think that just means I should move you into my room since it's bigger." He had never mentioned to Kuroko that he was initially planning to have Kuroko stay in his room when he first moved in and only decided to give Kuroko his own room due to being unsure if he would be able to keep himself under control.

“That’s fine with me as well,” Kuroko said with a shrug.

"We can do that tomorrow then. I'm comfy right now." His fingers instinctively found their way to Kuroko's hair and he mindlessly ran them through it.

“Okay,” Kuroko mumbled around a yawn, cuddling up to Akashi.

Akashi pressed a kiss to Kuroko's forehead and let himself drift off to sleep, holding Kuroko closely to him.

* * *

Akashi thumbed the material of his Emperor outfit, looking over the tears in it from the many times he had worn it and gotten injured. Maybe it was time to get rid of the thing. He still wasn’t really sure he’d ever use it again.

Kuroko was walking past the room, but stopped upon noticing Akashi. “Why did you do it?” he asked after a moment of just watching him. Akashi had only sort of explained in the hospital, so he was hoping for a better explanation this time. 

Akashi dropped the suit, turning around to face the voice that had called out to him. Looking between the suit on the floor and Kuroko, Akashi heaved a sigh. “I guess I never really told about it, did I? The one part of my childhood that you don’t know about, that is.”

“You didn’t. I’d like to know now though if you’ll tell me,” Kuroko replied, stepping further into the room.

“It’s… not something I’m very comfortable remembering. You were the only reason I managed to get through those days, even if you didn’t know it.” Akashi took the last few steps needed until he was directly in front of Kuroko. Taking one of his hands, running his thumb over it, he met Kuroko’s eyes with a soft look. “For everything you've done for me, you deserve to know.”

_Akashi was led to small, white room with a single bed in the center. There was a large mirror on one of the walls which Akashi was sure was really a window, with a bunch of other people like the lady holding his hand outside of it. “What am I doing here? What are you going to do to me?” His voice came out less confident than he would have liked._

_“We’re going to make you better. You’ll get superpowers, like the men in comics.” The woman said, smiling pleasantly at him._

_Akashi scrunched his eyebrows. He had never really read comic books but from he knew about them, he knew that the process of gaining powers was generally unpleasant. “But I don’t want powers.” A part of him knew that this was the fault of his father’s lust for power, not wanting his heir to be powerless when there were children who were naturally born with supernatural abilities._

_“I’m sure you’ll find them useful once you have them,” the woman reassured. “Now, if you could please get up here,” she said, gesturing to the bed._

_Akashi looked up at the bed with a small hint of fear, but he had a bad feeling that if he didn’t obey the lady then something worse might happen. With a small amount of effort, he climbed up onto the metal bed. His eyes widened in shock when he felt metal restraints securing around his wrists and ankles. “What’s happening? Stop!” Akashi struggled, pulling at the restraints to no avail. “Let me go!”_

_“We will, don’t worry,” the woman said in the same pleasant tone as she walked over to a desk of dials and switches. “We just need to test a few things first.” She then flicked one of the switches._

_Akashi felt a large surge of electricity flow through him. His pained scream echoed through the small room. He tried to tell the lady to stop, tried to call out for help, but he couldn’t form a single word. Nothing but a shrill cry came from his lips. As the torture continued he could feel a painful warmth welling in his left eye._

_After a few minutes she flicked the switch again and the restraints released. “Inconclusive. We’ll try again next week,” she said, writing notes on her clipboard._

_Akashi reached a shaking hand up to his throbbing eye and felt something wet over it. Pulling his hand back to look at what the liquid was he found his hand covered in blood. "Wha-..." His voice was hoarse, his throat sore from the screaming. He could feel more liquid pouring out of his other as well but came to realize that they were tears. "Wh-why?" he managed to voice through his sobs._

_“For power, of course. Your father wants to be the most powerful, and that includes having the most powerful heir. It really is a shame that you weren’t just born with powers, but eventually you’ll have them,” the woman said, not looking up from her notes. “You’re free to leave for now. We have a nurse on standby that will look at your eye.”_

_Akashi tried to push himself up with his shaking arms but only fell back onto the metal bed. He cursed his weakness during the moment, cursed the woman who cared nothing about him, but mostly cursed his father. His power hungry father who was willing to do such heinous deeds towards his only son in pursuit of it._

_A few hours after the experience and going to the nurse to be checked on, he asked his driver to change their course of destination from home, if he could really call it that, to Kuroko's house. He didn't even wait for the driver to fully stop, hopping out of the car the minute he saw the house and pounded on Kuroko's front door._

_Kuroko opened the door and looked at Akashi with surprise. “Akashi-kun? Are you okay?” he asked, leaning closer to peer at Akashi’s face._

_Without a word, Akashi threw himself into Kuroko's arms, hiding his face on Kuroko's shoulder. He could feel the tears welling up again as he pulled himself closer to Kuroko._

_Kuroko's eyes widened in surprise, but he quickly wrapped his arms around Akashi. He could only recall one time that he had seen Akashi cry, and that had been at his mother's funeral, so Kuroko had no idea what could have upset him so much now. "What happened?" he asked quietly, running his fingers through Akashi's hair to try and calm him down._

_Akashi made a small noise similar to a whine in response to Kuroko's question. He didn't want to recount the feeling and he especially didn't want to subject Kuroko to knowledge as awful as human experimentation. He tried to will the tears away, tried to pull on his strong facade but only succeeded in making himself cry harder, and not for the first time that day, he cursed how weak he was._

_Kuroko wanted to ask more questions, but he didn't want to push Akashi either. "Do you at least want to come inside? My mom can make the hot chocolate that you like," he offered, still running his fingers through Akashi's hair._

_Akashi reluctantly pulled away from Kuroko’s shoulder to nod at him. He did his best to wipe away his tears, causing his cheeks to turn red from the pressure he was using, before greeting Kuroko’s mother. She gave him a worried look, but didn’t ask questions, and immediately went to prepare the hot chocolate. After calming down a bit, sitting on Kuroko’s bed with his mug he whispered a faint, “Thank you, Tetsuya.” His voice was still hoarse from his screams earlier._

_"I haven't really done much for you to thank me for, but you're welcome, Akashi-kun," Kuroko replied, scooting a bit closer to his friend so that their shoulders were touching._

_Akashi shook his head, finally raising it to meet Kuroko’s gaze, “You’ve done plenty.” He was thankful for Kuroko being the sole person he could confide in. The sole person he could be weak in front of._

_Kuroko offered him a tiny smile. "Well, if you ever want to talk about what happened, I'm here. And I'm here if you don't want to as well.”_

_Akashi managed to form his lips into a small smile to return to Kuroko, even if it was insincere. He thanked Kuroko again, relaxing against him. He doubted he would be telling Kuroko about what happened anytime soon, if he ever did tell Kuroko, that is, but at least not Akashi had a shoulder to lean on if it happened again._

_Akashi revisited the research facility every week after that for a year, each time they would perform multiple painful tests on him and each time he would visit Kuroko for comfort, but didn’t shed any tears after the first experience. The final time he visited the awful research facility and the awful white room, was when they were finally sure that they had accomplished their goal, experiencing it first hand._

_Akashi robotically approached the metal bed, as he had become accustomed to, no longer needing the lady with the fake smile to lead him. Silently laying on it, he waited for the restraints and the pain to start. As she flipped the switch and the surge of electricity flowed through him, he held back his screams, as he had trained himself to do. He felt heat pool into his left eye again as the pain became too unbearable. He faced the lady, eyes locked with hers, not letting her look away, his voice came out hauntingly clear, “Stop.”_

_She didn't have control of her actions. She tried to resist as she stared into the newly golden eye of her subject. It didn't work though. With shaking hands she reached forward and turned off the switch._

_Akashi let out a small, barely audible sigh as the pain stopped, but didn’t relax. Keeping his gaze with the woman, his left eye throbbing, he commanded her with a clear, steady voice, “Release me.”_

_The woman turned a dial and the restraints released, trying to back away as soon as Akashi was free._

_Akashi swiftly got up, and gave her one last command before finally releasing her from his gaze, “You will never test on me again.” He exited the room the same way he had come in, memorizing the route he had taken every week for the past year. He gave the same command to every researcher he passed, every face in the facility that he recognized until he was finally in safe in the confines of the car he had come in. Only then did he relax and the realization of what he had just done hit him. He had powers. The researchers had succeeded. He curled into himself. Despite the events that had just transpired, despite having every person he passed bend to his will, he had never felt more weak. “Take me to Tetsuya,” he instructed the driver, glad to know that this command didn’t require the use of an ability he was given against his own will._

Kuroko took a moment to respond to the information. "I thought it was something with your father, but I had no idea it was anything like that."

The hand on Kuroko's had strengthened its grip throughout the memory in an attempt to not tremble. "It's ironic isn't it? Gaining revenge against those who hurt me with the very power that they gave me." Akashi let out a bitter laugh, he couldn't look Kuroko in the eyes.

“Well, now I know that I can actually dislike your father more than I thought I could. But not all of the people you went after were scientists,” Kuroko pointed out.

“The businessmen were an indirect attack against my father. I was never going to hurt them, just threaten them out of deals.” Akashi was starting to more or less calm down, but he knew the minute he let go of Kuroko’s hand, his own would start to tremble.

"You did hurt them. Several of them," Kuroko reminded him. "Or you complained about me stopping you from hurting them."

“I meant seriously hurt them. The injuries I caused were never planned, and only happened because they were particularly stubborn. And the complaints were merely bluffs.” He wouldn’t inflict the same amount of pain on an uninvolved party as he would on someone directly related to his own trauma. He wasn’t _that_ cruel.

Kuroko sighed. "Akashi-kun, I'm not sure I'll ever understand your way of thinking either. It's certainly not like you to do anything indirectly. I'm certainly not endorsing it, but why didn't you just go straight for your father?"

Again, Akashi laughed bitterly. “You say that as if simply taking his life would matter to him. He wouldn’t care if he died so long as he’s left his legacy. He only cares for power, which was what I aimed to take from him instead. That’s why I left him, starting my own business, leaving him without an heir. That’s why I tried to get rid of every business partner he had until he would have nothing.”

"I think not having an heir takes enough power from him. It peacefully takes away his power and you end up with more power if your business is better than his. Which, last time I checked the stock market, it is."

“I disagree. However—” His free hand reached up to Kuroko’s stomach to gently trace over where the bandage wrapped around. “—I don’t think there’s going to be much I’m going to do about it now.” He still couldn’t forgive himself for causing such a wound, but he had accepted it, he couldn’t change what had already been done. He would learn to move on eventually.

Kuroko looked down at Akashi's hand. "If my getting hurt once stops other people from getting hurt until there isn't any revenge to be had, then I can't say I'm that upset about it."

“What am I to do when the one I care for the most is the one standing in my way?” He wrapped his arms around Kuroko in an embrace, tangling his fingers into Kuroko’s hair. “I don’t think I can keep doing what I have been, knowing that I risk hurting you again.”

"I certainly have no arguments with you stopping." Kuroko wrapped his arms around Akashi as well to return the hug.

“That doesn’t mean I can forgive and forget. That also doesn’t mean I might not try something else in the future. It just means nothing for a while. That’s the most I can promise you.”

"Well, I can promise you that if you start trying to hurt people again I'll be right back to trying to stop you again," Kuroko replied.

Akashi pulled back slightly, his hand pulling back to stroke Kuroko’s cheek with his thumb. “I wouldn’t expect anything less.”

"This sounds like one of those sitcoms you judge me for watching. Boyfriends and arch enemies at the same time," Kuroko told him with a smile to try and lighten the mood a bit.

Akashi knit his eyebrows together in displeasure, “Tetsuya, I resent that. I’m much more handsome than any sitcom actor.” He failed to hide his small grin.

"I don't know . . . There was that one guy that got pushed into the pool and then you turned off my television," Kuroko mused.

“Ignoring the ridiculously sculpted man that you should not have been staring at, did you just mention that I was your boyfriend?” Akashi leaned his forehead against Kuroko’s, a pleased grin perfectly in place.

Kuroko felt his face flush a bit and he hid it by burying his face in the crook of Akashi's neck, on the side that wasn't cut up. "I would hope that's what we are, considering how much kissing there has been in the last few weeks."

“I wasn’t sure the great hero wanted a solidified relationship,” Akashi teased.

"Are you saying that you don't want one?" Kuroko asked, looking up at Akashi through his lashes.

“Don’t tease when you already know the answer,” With that, Akashi connected their lips in a kiss. Pulling back, he could only grin at Kuroko’s flushed expression.

“I didn’t know the answer. I had to make sure,” Kuroko replied, leaning up to peck Akashi on the cheek.

Akashi chuckled, leaning his forehead back onto Kuroko’s. “The answer is yes. Absolutely yes.”


End file.
